Pull You Back
by LionHeartMisfit
Summary: Sequel to What Lies Beneath- After 4 months of being apart, Scott and Stiles have no idea what Maggie has been through that's changed her so drastically. The only thing they know is there's a bigger, badder threat than before and Maggie is neck deep in it. They have to ban together to not only take down the threats taking over Beacon Hills but find a way to save Maggie from herself
1. Gone So Long

**Authors Note: SEASON 3 IS FINALLY HERE! Thank you all for reading Strangers and What Lies Beneath. IF you've made it this far, thank you for sticking with the story. I hope you're ready for all that's about to happen. Thing's get a bit intense but you probably already know how I roll considering you've made it through the first two installments. Again, thank you for continuing this journey with Maggie. I look forward to hearing what you all think. **

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**[Isaac's POV]**

I felt my body being slowly dragged across the wet pavement, my own limbs too heavy to even move on my own. I could smell the blood in the air and knew it was my own. The pain from the alpha's claws in my side burned more than anything I'd ever felt before but the blow to the head I took kept me from gaining complete consciousness. I was aware I was being moved but I just couldn't bring myself to really snap out of it until I was hit with a sudden volt of electricity making my eyes spring open wide.

"Be quiet!" A voice scaled me with a harsh whisper. It wasn't Maggie though. It was another girl with a dark complexion and dark hair to match.

"Maggie…where's Maggie?" I asked trying to keep my vision from blurring.

"I'll take you to her but you've got to stay with me." The voice hoisted me to my feet and started to drag my body as best as she could. I reached back feeling the sharp pain on the back of my neck and felt bloody puncture marks.

"My neck-" I started to panic.

"It's from their claws. It's how they share memories." The girl explained keeping her eyes open for any sign of incoming threats.

"But I don't remember anything." I could hear how raw my throat was like I'd been screaming for hours but the strain to remember just how I'd gotten so messed up was making my head hurt even worse.

"It's also how they steal them. Listen to me, no matter what happens you've got to hold on, okay? You hold on tight." The girl wrapped my arms around her waist. I leaned my chin on her leather clad shoulder as she pulled on a helmet and started her motorcycle up. I did as I was told and held onto the girl's waist as tight as I could, pushing aside the pain my body was in. I focused my eyes on the slick pavement of the road under the bike as we sped through the streets of the warehouse district but the sound of something approaching quickly stuck in my ears, even over the sound of the bike's revving.

"I hear something…someone's coming." I glanced over my shoulder and focused on the thing thrumming towards us. The person came into view so quickly I could actually feel how wide my eyes got just before he took a swipe at the bike with his claws.

"FASTER!" I screamed terrified causing the girl to pull back on the accelerated just in time to avoid the strike. That didn't stop the alpha as it ran full speed towards us but when I dared another look back, there was now two of them running after the bike. I vaguely remembered the twins from the attack a month ago with Maggie but I was too scared of falling off the bike to concentrate on that.

When they finally caught up, they managed to swipe the bike so hard it veered. I tightened my grip on the girl and she took a sharp turn to avoid an oncoming truck almost sending us into a wall. The bike came to a stop giving me time to readjust my grip on her.

"You remember what I said before?" She asked firmly staring down at the two alphas that were now walking towards us.

"Hold on?" I questioned worrying that we might not make it out of this but trying desperately to push those thoughts out of my head. Maggie would lose it if I didn't make it back. I couldn't do that to her. She needed me.

"HOLD ON!" She thrusted the shield back down on the helmet before hitting the throttle of the bike. We were now barreling towards the threat at a high speed causing me to hold my breath but before we struck them she hit the brake quickly taking a turn narrowly avoiding the pounce from the alpha. I let out the breath I'd been holding but suddenly felt my heart jump into my throat.

"WHOA!" I yelped looking up just in time to see us flying through a wall of glass. The sudden scare gave me a head rush so bad I started to black out, grip slipping and the girl yelling echoing in my ears. I felt the bike being laid on it's side before rolling towards some empty oil drums. I sat up shaking my head, trying to keep my eyes steady on the twins approaching us once more with even more aggression.

I watched them stripping their shirts off in confusion until one of them crouched to the ground. The other stuck his fist into his twins back but instead of punching a hole through his body it was like he had absorbed the arm itself morphing intoa bigger, fiercer super wolf. I stared at the giant alpha in shock. I didn't even think that was possible but the vibrations from it's feet stomping towards me lit the fire under me. I started to crawl away, unable to get my legs to work properly but it didn't seem fast enough.

"ISAAC! GET DOWN!" I looked back at the girl, seeing her face for the first time clearly as she wielded a huge gun right in my face. I ducked down just before she fired, blasting electric volts into the huge alpha making it separate back into the twins it was made of. The brightness of the flashes caused me to cover my eyes but when I opened them back up, they were both gone.

"I thought I told you to hang on?" She scolded me one last time before I fell back against the pavement, dizzy and exhausted from running for my life. I prayed that the next person to stumble across us was Maggie and not the alphas. I didn't have anymore energy in my body to fight. I let the darkness take over hoping that when I came to, I'd be okay.

I sat up when I felt the bang of doors at my feet and bright lights in my eyes. I was being rushed into Beacon Hills hospital on a stretcher, shirt gone from the paramedics working on me and my arms strapped to the gurney.

"Hey wait a minute, I know this one!" Melissa McCall ran towards me as I glanced back at the gurney behind mine. The smells of the hospital were too overwhelming to know if she was alright or not but I knew she was in worse shape than I was since she was human.

"What happened Isaac?" Melissa tried to keep her voice down. For a second I forgot she actually knew about werewolves.

"You need to call Maggie. Call Maggie so she can help that girl, she's worse off than me." I felt around for my phone knowing that there were few people with the capability to reach Maggie but my phone was missing. It must have fallen out when the bike went down.

"Why aren't you healing?" Melissa questioned lifting the blanket away from the deep gashes in my side causing me to flinch.

"I will! Please just help her!" I shouted as they wheeled me around the corner away from the girl and Ms. McCall. I laid back against the pillow and felt a nurse inject me with something that made me instantly tired.

"F-find...find Maggie." I breathed out before the medication forced my eyes closed and a blanket of darkness took over.

**[Scott's POV]**

I sat in the chair bouncing with excitement trying to block out all the smells in the tattoo parlor. I had survived summer school and my SAT prep that I decided I wanted to take so I'd be ready for junior year and the initiative swayed my mom into finally signing off on me getting a tattoo. I'd been itching for one the closer school got and I'd finally made it here against Stiles suggestion.

"Dude, how about something like this?" Stiles held up the book of tattoos and I rolled my eyes at his suggestion. The tattoo looked like the kanima and despite all the time that had passed, it was still something I'd prefer never to see or talk about ever again.

"Too soon?" Stiles joked putting the book back down. The tattoo artist, Lou looked at my drawing and started setting up his equipment as my adrenaline pumped through my veins. I honestly felt like I was being rewarded for surviving the summer. I felt accomplished and proud of myself. After all that had happened, rolling into the summer and dealing with the Maggie drama and still being able to get ahead of my school work, I deserved this.

"I don't know about this man. These are pretty permanent. Are you sure this is what you want? I mean why the two bands?" Stiles questioned trying to keep his eyes off of the fresh needles Lou was opening.

"I'm not changing my mind. This is what I want and the two bands is just something I like." It was hard to explain just what the symbol meant to me without upsetting Stiles. To me, it was like coming full circle. Not everything that happens in life that sets you back can destroy you. Sometimes you just have to start over.

"Your first tattoo should kind of mean something Scott." Stiles chuckled at my vagueness.

"Getting a tattoo means something." I tried to defend but Stiles just laughed.

"He's right. Tattooing goes back thousands of years. The Tahitian word tattooa means to leave a mark like a rite of passage." Lou explained as he readied his gun near my arm.

"See! He gets it." I pointed to him and Stiles eyebrows shot up.

"He's literally covered in tattoos, Scott. That's not really objective-" Lou cut Stiles off.

"Are you ready?" He asked ready to get started. I gave him a nod and let out a deep breath.

"You aren't afraid of needles are you?" He questioned before turning the machine on.

"No no I'm good." I made sure not to look at the buzzing of the needles as he brought it to my skin and got started. The sensation wasn't too painful but I definitely felt it.

"I tend to get a little squeamish so..." Stiles looked over at the needles dragging across my skin just as I clenched my eyes shut from the pain but I opened them quickly when I heard the thud of his body hitting the floor of the shop.

"Sorry about him. He doesn't like needles...or blood...or pain really." I apologized to Lou who just shook his head.

"Happens all the time. We'll get him an icepack when we finish up. Best to let his mouth rest for a bit." I chuckled at Lou despite the pain he was inflicting on my skin. It took almost 3 hours for him to finish up and by that time Stiles was up and rubbing the knot out of his head. Something about my arm didn't feel right. I wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to feel but it didn't feel right.

"Great, now that you've successfully managed to cause me pain indirectly by getting a tattoo...hey are you okay?" Stiles asked seeing me wince looking at the bandage that covered my tattoo.

"It kind of burns." I admitted.

"Yes...you just had your skin stabbed about a hundred thousand times with a needle." He shook his head readjusting the icepack.

"Yeah but I don't think it's supposed to feel like this." Stiles started up the jeep when the sudden sensation of pain increased like my skin was being eaten by fire ants.

"OH! AHH! No it's definitely not supposed to feel like this!" I gritted out making Stiles jump.

"I gotta take this thing off." I started to yank at the bandage, not bothering to listen to Stiles protest about possibly throwing up if he had to see my bloodied arm but the moment the bandaged came off, you could see the ink slowly disappearing. Once the skin was completely clear of any tattoo, the burn went away.

"It...it healed." I whined disappointed.

"God I hated it." Stiles breathed making me look over at him offended. He caught my gaze and frowned.

"Sorry." Stiles pulled away from the parlor and I was defeated. All that work for nothing. It didn't make sense.

"I don't understand. Derek has a tattoo. How come it didn't stick?" I asked confused.

"Derek's tattoo was probably burned in with all his manpain and angry eyebrow brooding. It's just a tattoo, man." Stiles brushed it off and I knew why. Mentioning Derek always made me think of Maggie but we'd agreed a couple months back not to bring up Maggie after finding out she was hiding from us. It had been a rough few weeks after we decided not to search for her but the daily grind made it easier to push it to the back of our minds.

"I can hear you thinking and I'm almost afraid to ask." Stiles broke through my thoughts.

"It's nothing...I just...I wonder if Maggie will be in school tomorrow. She's got to go to school right?" I glanced over at Stiles to see his grip tighten on the steering wheel.

"If we've learned anything from this summer it's that Maggie doesn't have to do anything that she doesn't want to. Be a decent friend, be honest and considerate." Stiles rolled his eyes bitterly. He had managed to keep himself together after his panic attack but I still worried about him. He'd thrown himself into other things while I was busy but I always felt like there was a part of him that was just sad.

"What about Allison? Heard anything from her yet?" Stiles changed the subject.

"No we haven't called or texted all summer, that was the agreement but I don't think she'll be back at school tomorrow. Not after all that happened anyway." I shrugged sadly. I would love to see her, talk to her and ask her how her summer was but thinking too much about it would only bring me down.

"Well I think she is." Stiles chuckled making me look over at him as we stopped at a red light.

"I'd say pretty definite, like 100%." Stiles nodded his head to the car parked next to us and my eyes almost bugged out of my head when I saw that it was Lydia and Allison. Just seeing her smile made my heart slow down. She was just as beautiful as she always was, hair shorter, lighter than the last time I saw her. She looked happy. That was of course until she caught sight of me.

"Oh my God...oh my God!" I freaked out trying to lean back in the seat to disappear. Stiles ignored my freaking out and waved at Lydia.

"Can you just drive please Stiles!" I begged.

"Scott, it's a red light. It's illegal and I'm the Sheriff's son." Stiles shrugged making me glare at him.

"You break the law on a daily basis, probably more than anyone else in town! Please just go!" I pointed out.

"While that it probably true, it is pretty hurtful. Maybe we should just talk to them, you know? Just say something and get it out of the way." Stiles was being serious and I shook my head at him.

"No! Stiles don't!" He leaned across me to roll down the window but even though he disregarded my pleas, Lydia ran the light driving away from us. I let out a sigh of relief but became instantly mortified.

"You know they probably didn't see us." Stiles pulled a face and I shoved him back to his side of the jeep.

"You're the worst kind of friend! God! I never would have done that to you if it were Maggie." I covered my face with my hand trying not to think about the utter fail that just happened.

"Well Scott you'd have to find her first to do that. What's the big deal? Are you two just going to avoid each other?" Stiles pressed on the gas once the light turned green and started down the road. Lydia wasn't too far in front of us and I suddenly panicked.

"What are you doing? They're going to think we're following them!" I freaked.

"Do you see any turns Scott? There's not much I can do." Stiles waved his hand around.

"Well do something!" I raised my voice getting him to look over at me before biting his bottom lip and hitting the breaks hard.

"Happy? Now we look like weirdos, way more than usual." Stiles complained. I noticed that Lydia's car stopped a few feet ahead though. Stiles and I exchanged a look of confusion and I actually wished Maggie was here to tell me what to do. She was always good at explaining strange occurrences like this. Their screams filled the air suddenly and we both jumped out running towards them as they barreled out of the car. I put my hand on Allison's arm and she looked surprised.

"It ran right into us!" She yelled looking at the deer that had busted it's way into the windshield. I'd never seen something so bizarre.

"Are you okay?" I asked looked her over. She let out a heavy breath and nodded.

"I'm okay." She gave a reassure smile and I dropped my hands from her arms. There was a brief moment of silence before Lydia started shrieking.

"I'm not okay! I'm totally freaking out! How the hell does it just run into us!?" Stiles tried to comfort her as I walked around to really get a good look at the deer. The fur on its back was raised and I thought back to something Deaton had told me.

_"I can't put my finger on it. I keep thinking back to the night she said goodbye. She was up in arms and distant. I keep thinking about her body language because she never really stood with her shoulders up like she was preparing to fight-" Deaton cut me off._

_"You know when animals are scared, the hair on their back tenses up. The scarier the threat, the more tense the coat. Perhaps she was just afraid of telling you what she was doing out of fear of disapproval." Deaton suggest._

_"She should know that she doesn't have to be afraid of me." I argued but he put his hand on my shoulder._

_"Not scare of you Scott but for you." _

"I saw its eyes right before it hit us. It looked…it looked crazy." Lydia rubbed the back of her neck but I shook my head.

"No it was scared." I put my hand on the tensed fur and cringed.

"Actually it was terrified." I took my hand off of the deer and looked back at the darkness of the road. Whatever the deer was running from literally scared it to death. Stiles called his dad and a police officer took Lydia and Allison home. I wanted to stop by the clinic and tell Deaton about what had happened but it was getting too late. I had to be up early for my morning routine which I wanted to continue into the new school year which meant up by 6AM, work out, shower and off to school. Mom was working the late shift so I'd have to get myself up and out like usual but now that I had my new bike, I wouldn't need to catch a ride with Stiles.

When I got home I looked through my phone contacts and stared down at Maggie's name under my favorites. Her voicemail box had been full for quite some time but I decided to send a text on the off chance the phone would somehow be near her.

**Text to Mags:**  
_If you find your way home, be careful. Something's up._

I put my phone on charge and tried to get some sleep in spite of all the thing's running around in my head.

**[Stiles POV]**

I had gotten up early and started researching some statistics on animal collisions across the United States. Last night had peaked my curiosity more than anything has in a while. Animals didn't just run head on into cars. They were usually hit crossing the road. Drivers are supposed to hit animals, not the other way around. I could hear my dad roaming around the house and calling up the steps to me but I was too engulfed in what I was reading to answer him until he'd come to the doorway.

"Do you know how many vehicle collisions last year involved deer? 247,000!" I informed him making him let out a sigh.

"Oh God please go to school." Dad groaned but I just waved him off.

"That's just deer crossing the road. This one came right up the middle." I kept typing trying to dig for more logical answers considering I couldn't just tell my dad that something supernatural was probably brewing.

"Come on, I'm not going to beg you." He walked into the room and I snorted.

"Good I'm impervious to your influence anyway." I shrugged.

"Would you consider a bribe?" He inquired.

"Couldn't meet my price." I still didn't bother to stop what I was doing. He'd give up eventually.

"Extortion?" He tried making me laugh. If only he knew what was really going on in Beacon Hills.

"You've got nothing on me." Dad and I had worked through the tension that was caused by Matt's attack. I think it mostly got better because of how Maggie pretty much decided she was going to pull a disappearing act on me but I didn't care. I'm glad I was able to talk to my dad again without feeling like the worst son on the planet. There was still room for improvement but I'd take what I could get.

"Is this about Maggie? Are you dragging your feet because you think she'll be there today?" My fingers stopped typing immediately. Much like Scott and I, my dad agreed not to bring Maggie up for the rest of the summer. After my episode in his office, I decided that it would be best to try and block all things Maggie out of my head for my own sanity's sake. I couldn't think about where she was. I couldn't think about what she was doing or who she was with because just knowing that she was okay with having us worried about her pissed me off to no end. I also couldn't think about it for too long without realizing that I told her I was in love with her before she took off and it didn't seem to matter.

"I thought we had a deal?" I breathed closing my eyes in frustration.

"Summers over kiddo. You two are going to have to face each other eventually." I looked back at my dad who held that familiar frown. The same frown that he held when I told him I didn't want him to tell me if Maggie contacted him again. The same frown that I got whenever we ran into Nathan in the grocery store. I hated that frown. It was like a pity frown.

"Really? Because you know for a fact that she'll be back at school? It's been 4 months Dad. Radio silence." I reminded him but he just shook his head.

"I just don't want you to go back to how you were when she first came home. That was a really hard time for you and I don't want to see you like that again. You've managed to get through the summer, maybe you should let her explain-" I cut my dad off, unable to hear his speech.

"I told her I was falling for her dad. She knew how I felt and she took off anyway. Whatever happens now is on her. It's not like before. I could never hate Maggie. All of this would be so much easier if I could but I can't. All I can do is keep going, you know?" Dad gave me that same frown again and I spun around in my chair unwilling to look at it for any longer.

"Can we focus on what's important here? Like how the animals of Beacon Hills could be in an uproar that we are ridiculously unprepared for?" I gestured to my computer screen before continuing my search.

"Alright, that's it." I felt my chair being pulled backwards as I struggled to keep my fingers typing but Dad managed to flip me out of my desk chair.

"Police brutality? That's the angle you decided on? You're becoming a statistic, Dad." I looked up from the floor rubbing my elbow as he extended his hand to help me up.

"You're tough, Son. I think you'll be just fine. Now get your butt to school and stay out of trouble. Let's try something different this year, like attending classes and not torturing the staff." Dad gave me a push towards the door and I rolled my eyes. I made no promises for any of that, especially considering I would probably have to beg, borrow and steal just to make sure I got through the track team crap in order to make the team in the spring.

I pulled into the parking lot at school and noticed it seemed busier than usual. New freshman, old faces but I was only worried about finding Scott. He managed to find me first and started rambling about a set of bikes in the lot that were better than his dirt bike.

"Scott let's be real here, dirt bikes aren't really up on the list of super cool things. I mean I know some huffy's that are cooler than a dirt bike." Scott glared at me as we walked up the huge set of stairs.

"So I was thinking of texting Derek for help." I knew Scott was merely using words to get back at me for calling his bike lame but I was still unamused by his tact.

"You want to ask Derek for help? Why? Why would anyone ever ask Derek Hale for help with anything? Unless you want tips on eyebrow maintenance or how to brood in a leather jacket." I mocked as we walked through the hallway.

"He's got the triskele tattoo on his back so he obviously knows a way I can get my tattoo to stay without it healing." Scott pointed out. I remembered the tattoo from when I got stuck with him in my room with Danny. I wondered briefly how a tattoo would stick to a born wolf but never bothered asking.

"Yeah but don't you think his hands might be a little full?" I gestured to the missing posters with Erica and Boyd's faces on them. I had asked Maggie in one of my postcards if she knew where they might be but after the whole debacle, I suspected the cards weren't even coming from her to begin with so it was pretty much pointless.

"Maybe he knows where they are. Maybe they're with-" I put my hand up stopping Scott and he let out a sigh. I didn't have to say anything though, we both got distracted by the sounds coming from the principal's office. After Gerard, we'd basically gotten the original staff back but it was apparent that he left some unusual things behind.

"What the hell is this?" We watched him pull a large sword from under the desk to show his secretary and I shoved Scott down the hallway.

"Don't make eye contact. Stay off their radar." I muttered keeping my head down. I pulled Scott into the English classroom and sat down near the back. Scott didn't sit down next to me though. He sat closer to the front which meant I had to get up and move which I groaned about letting him know I was still not completely happy with his pro-school attitude. I mean I was proud of the guy for stepping up but school was still school.

I watched people enter the classroom and tried not be anxious about every dark haired girl that came through the door. I hated that I'd gotten so good at pushing my anxieties away that just hearing her name brought me right back to where I'd started at the beginning of the summer. Lydia and Allison walked into the classroom and looked for empty seats. Lydia surprisingly sat next to me but Allison was sort of forced into the seat in front of Scott.

"Is this for Maggie?" She asked quietly.

"Uh no no way. She's gone. I mean she's not gone-gone, actually I'm not sure but that seat is totally available." Scott rambled pathetically as I watched in horror. She sat down awkwardly and Scott looked at me for assurance which I was unable to give without a sarcastic thumbs up.

"Maggie's not back yet?" Lydia asked making me look over at her.

"How did you know she was gone?" I questioned unaware that she was even privy to Maggie leaving.

"She was the one who helped Derek teach Jackson the wolfie way. She mentioned a vacation." I was baffled by that information. I had no idea she had a hand in all that.

"Did she tell you where she was going or what she was doing?" I asked curiously earning a strange look from Lydia.

"Why are you asking me?" Lydia countered.

"Because she didn't tell any of us. She just sort of took off. We haven't talked to her in months." Lydia looked at me with a slight frown, that same frown my dad always gave me. I quickly cleared my throat.

"That's not true, Nathan's talked to her and according to him she's fine and dandy. She just doesn't want to talk to us." I explained further.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure she has a good explanation." Lydia couldn't even look at me when she said it.

"Yeah...she always does." I rolled my eyes as I said it wanting to press more into whatever Lydia seemed to know but before I could, my phone vibrated in my pocket along with everyone else's in the room.

"Well that's very pretty little liars." I muttered earning a look from Allison and Lydia.

"Not that I watch that…I'm just-"

"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." A woman with dark hair and ruffled blouse walked in reciting the text message that read on my phone.

"This is the last line of the first book we are going to read. It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off everyone." She smiled at the room as she wrote her name on the board and I put my phone back in my pocket. There was no way I would ever turn my phone off completely. My dad was a police officer. I was worry prone. The last bell finally rang and she closed the door making me take a deep breath.

Maggie wasn't coming back to school.

**[Isaac's POV]**

I came to with the burning sensation in my side still very much taking over my body but when I tried to get up, my legs refused to work.

"Whoa! Back in bed!" Melissa came back in, shutting the door and helping me into the bed.

"I need my clothes-" I started to scramble but she put her hands up.

"You can't leave like this Isaac. You're still in bad shape and you're scheduled for surgery, which is going to be pretty hard to explain." She peeled away the bandage on my side and looked at the wound.

"It's visibly healing but there's not much I can do." I looked at the people moving around outside the door and felt dread settling him.

"Isn't there something you can do? Anything at all? I mean I don't need surgery, obviously." I pointed out but she shook her head like she was unsure of having me move around with my side looking as bad as it looked.

"It doesn't hurt that bad." I tried to put her mind at ease.

"Well it looks horrible." She rolled her eyes.

"Maggie will fix it. I'll be fine. I just need to get out of here." It took me a second to realize I had slipped up again mentioning Maggie and I wasn't getting away with it this time as she stared at me stunned.

"You mentioned Maggie earlier but I thought it was because of blood loss. Do you know where she's been?" Melissa asked holding my gaze but I felt like looking into her eyes would only make me look like a liar.

"Yeah I know and she's safe." That was the blanket story we were supposed to tell but I could see by the look on her face that she had already been told by someone else and she wasn't having it anymore.

"You know what? If you want me to help you with all this, you're going to have to give me more than that." She clicked her tongue to her teeth and waved her hands over my body. I let out a sigh and knew Maggie was going to be pissed but I was out of options. I had no way of contacting her or Derek and if I didn't hurry up and get out of here, I was going under the knife.

"I know Maggie's safe because she's been with me all summer." I said slowly watching her eyebrow's go up.

"Been with you where?" Melissa pressed making me look up at her.

"Here…in Beacon Hills…she never really left." Melissa's jaw dropped at the new information and glanced towards the door at the sounds of people arguing. I could hear that it was the Sheriff but the smells were all too hard to pinpoint in the hospital to see who he was arguing with.

"Have you tried calling Derek?" I broke through her silent battle with her thoughts and she shook her head.

"I've tried like 5 times. Do you have any other emergency werewolf contacts that pick up their phones or aren't in hiding?" She questioned almost bitterly.

"Yeah…call Scott." I watched her face freeze. I'd definitely catch a beating from Maggie for involving Scott but I was desperate. I needed help and there was no way I was going to be able to do this one on my own.

"I'm sorry that I have to ask…really I am but he's the only one-" She put her hand on my shoulder.

"I'll call him but you're going to tell him about Maggie. He deserves the truth." I put my weight back on the bed and watched Melissa walk out of the room, shutting the door behind her. I looked around the room and felt helpless. We'd been in some tight situations this summer but none that left me alone without a way to get ahold of anyone. Certainly not this close to the people we were trying to hide from. Scott was probably going to level me, if Maggie didn't get to me first.

I started to doze off for a few moments but when I let my eyes blink open slowly, I saw Maggie standing over me.

"M-Maggie? We've got…we've got to get out of here." I felt my eyes growing heavier and heavier by the second.

"Silly boy, I'm not Maggie but we'll find her after we take care of you." I used all my strength to keep my eyes open and really stare at the woman's face knowing it was not truly Maggie. I glanced down at her feet and felt my heart jump into my throat.

"Count with me now…one…two…three." I watched Kali's eyes go red and her claws extend as my eyes rolled back in my head again sending me back into darkness as my heartbeat pumped a mile a minute. My time had finally run out.

**[Scott's POV]**

After completely making an ass of myself in front of Allison, I decided that I needed to try and shake it off and just focus on what I promised myself I would. School. I started copying the notes on the board that Ms. Blake instructed us to copy when Allison's arm twisted backwards holding out a slip of paper. I glanced at Ms. Blake before taking the note and opening it up. I was surprised that it said she wanted to talk to me. I mean the two times I've seen her since she's been back were either embarrassing or chaotic. I really wanted to talk to her, ask her how her summer was and see how she was doing. I knew it would be insensitive of me to ask about us considering what happened with her mom but I knew we had to talk about that eventually. I just hoped it was what she wanted to talk about too.

"Mr. McCall? Gather your things please." I quickly put my hand over the note assuming I was busted but Ms. Blake gestured for me to come to the front of the class. Stiles gave me a confused look before I followed Ms. Blake out into the hallway.

"I'm sure it's an emergency if your mother says you need to leave school but I'm going to give you a warning in the nicest possible way. I'm well aware of your attendance record and I don't want to see you slip back into old habits." Ms. Blake seemed nice enough. Most teachers wouldn't care about their students that much but she genuinely seemed concerned about my education.

"I won't. It's going to be different this year." I reassured her.

"Resolutions are only good if you stick with them, Scott." She didn't seem to believe me.

"I will. I promise I won't be ephemeral." I smiled at her proud of myself for using my word of the day on someone other than my mom or Deaton. I turned my phone back on and immediately called my mom.

"Scott? Are you on your way?" She sounded upset.

"Yeah what's wrong?" I asked picking up my pace as I ran out into the parking lot.

"Isaac's here. He was in a really bad accident and I can't get ahold of Derek." I jumped on my bike and situated my backpack on the back.

"I'm on my way." I hung up the phone and kicked the bike started. I tried not to speed the whole way to the hospital but something about my mom's voice made me anxious. What the hell could have happened to Isaac? Where had he been all summer anyway and why wasn't Derek keeping track of his beta? I parked in the lot and my mom was standing at the front doors.

"How bad is he?" I asked putting my hand on her arm but she nodded her head.

"He's healing but slowly. He needs to get out of here before they try to operate on him but he came in with another girl who we can't seem to identify and she's also looking for Derek." We started down the hallway and I tried to stay focused on everything mom was telling me.

"Scott, Isaac said he's been with Maggie all summer." I froze before we got to the elevator at the mention of Maggie's name.

"What? What do you mean? Is she here?" My mom frowned at me.

"No sweetheart she's not here but he said she never left Beacon Hills." I was trying to comprehend what my mom was saying but it was impossible to believe that Maggie had been here this whole time.

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you because of all the progress you've made this summer. I know it was hard for you and Stiles when you found out she was gone and whatever Maggie's been doing seems to be pretty dangerous considering the condition Isaac showed up here in. I just want you to be careful." I put my hands on my mom's shoulders and she let out a heavy breath.

"Nothing is going to change. This year I'm going to be a better everything. A better son, a better student, a better friend. I promise you that all my hard work won't be in vain. I'll get Isaac out of here and I'll figured out where Maggie's been. Stiles will let me borrow his notes." I explained seeing the tension leave her body.

"Okay, he's in room 215. If you hurry then you should catch him before surgery." I kissed mom's forehead before running towards the elevator. I jumped in and hit the button for the second floor but before the doors could close a walking cane stopped the doors from shutting.

"Can you hit the button for the second floor please?" A blind man walked into the elevator and stood behind me. Despite the button already being lit up, I hit it again just so he would hear that I'd hit it for him. When the doors finally opened on the second floor, the man put his hand on my shoulder.

"You wouldn't mind helping me out for a second, would you?" I couldn't really blow the guy off. He was blind after all.

"Yeah sure." I led him slowly down the hallway, realizing all the time I was wasting by doing a good deed but the moment I dropped him where he needed to be dropped, I took off in the opposite direction trying to find Isaac's scent. He wasn't in the room that smelled the strongest but the scent didn't stop. I followed the trail and watched him being wheeled into the elevator by a tall, bald guy who smirked at me. I immediately picked up the guys scent and knew he was a werewolf. I saw Isaac was slumped over, non-responsive in the wheelchair and let out a low growl.

He laughed at me as if I wasn't going to challenge him but when I started sprinting towards the closing elevator doors he let out a growl of his own. I jumped into the elevator just before the doors could close and got to my feet quickly. When I looked at the man now, I could see that he was an alpha. He wasted no time in tossing me against the wall of the elevator hard making Isaac's chair drift to the corner of the elevator. Every time I tried to fight back, he got the jump on me, throwing me from one side to the other.

"When will you pathetic little wolves learn?" He snarled at me before chucking me into the light fixture above.

"Looks like you'll learn the hard way just like the little Hale wolf." My eyes went wide when he mentioned Maggie. He picked me up by my throat and held me about 2 feet off the ground.

"You're dealing with an alpha." I tried to take in air but it was impossible with his grip. The doors to the elevator opened and he suddenly let go of me.

"So am I." Derek appeared practically out of thin air, tossing the alpha out of the elevator and making him slide down the hallway. Derek looked down at me extending his hand.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" He asked as I let out a relieved sigh.

"Who the hell was that and what the hell is going on?" I asked letting Derek hoist me to my feet.

"There's no time for that. I need you to help me get him out of here." Derek hit the button for the garage of the hospital and I watched the doors close on the alpha has he glanced back at us. I followed along behind Derek as he picked Isaac up out of the chair and carried him towards a new SUV.

"This is yours?" I questioned as he got Isaac into the backseat. I opened the door on the other side to help pull him in.

"Yeah, Maggie has the car." He said not even looking at me. I thought for a second about letting him take off with Isaac but I had to know what was going on. I had to find out what he knew about Maggie. I jumped in the passenger seat and gave him a look that he didn't question as he took off towards the preserve. I helped him get Isaac inside the dusty, condemned house and settling him on a table that wasn't there the last time I'd been in the house. I looked around and actually noticed quite a few things that had changed as Derek moved things around.

"You don't still live here, do you?" I questioned as he knelt to the floor and started pulling up floor boards.

"No the county took it over but there's something here she'll need to help heal the wound of an alpha." Derek kept his eyes down as he rummaged through whatever rested below the charred wood.

"She…you said she." Derek looked up at me for a moment.

"The alpha in the elevator, he said I'd learn the hard way like the little Hale wolf." Derek let out a sigh and I stepped closer to him hovering.

"You've been with her this whole time while we were freaking out, worried to death that something bad was happening to her. Is she alright? Where is she now? Who was that alpha and what did he do to her?" Derek finally stopped what he was doing to look at me.

"You're asking me questions that I know you already know I can't answer. The alpha is from a rival pack and I'm handling it. I know you want to help and you already did. I owe you one but as far as Maggie is concerned, as far as this pack is concerned…it's my problem. Go home and be a teenager." Derek stood up on his feet and walked towards the table to spread out what he'd retrieved.

"Fine. You won't talk about Maggie and you won't tell me about what's going on but can I at least cash in that favor from you?" I figured if I could get Derek sitting down and worried about something other than Isaac and the current threat, I might be able to talk him into letting me know what's really going on with Maggie.

**[Stiles POV]**

I waited for Scott to text me for the longest time about why he was pulled out of class but he never texted back. I caught sight of a bandage on Lydia's ankle.

"Hey…did you get that in the accident?" I gestured to her leg and she rolled her eyes.

"No Prada bit me." I felt my jaw slack.

"Your dog?" I said in disbelief. Why would her dog bite her? She's had that dog for ages. Dogs don't just suddenly forget their owners and bite them.

"No my designer handbag. Yes of course my dog." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Has he ever done that before?" She nodded at me but didn't hold eye contact.

"Okay then maybe this is a pattern? You know how like animals start to act weird right before an earthquake or something?" I pointed out. It couldn't be a coincidence. The summer was too quiet. Not one peep out of supernatural land and now suddenly there are suicidal deer's and dogs are biting their owners.

"So what? An earthquake is coming?" Lydia shook her head clearly doing the probability silently.

"Or something. Maybe it means something's coming, something bad." My phone lit up on my desk and I glanced up at Ms. Blake who was writing on the board.

"It was a deer and a dog." Lydia said as I looked at the message on my phone.

**Text from Unknown Number:**  
_Keep your head down. Protect Lydia._

I pinned my eyebrows together, confused by the text. Who would send me a text like that from an unknown number? I looked around the room and everyone else had their head in their notes.

"What is that thing you say about three's? Once, twice-" Lydia was cut off by the sound of a bird slamming into the window. We all looked over towards the impact where a blood stain and a crack were all that was left of a kamikaze bird. I looked down at my phone reading the message over again and jumped when another bird slammed into the window making Ms. Blake jump backwards.

Suddenly the birds started breaking through the glass like a scene ripped straight out of the Hitchcock film. Students scrambled and I winced when a bird clawed my forehead. I remembered the text as Ms. Blake screamed for everyone to get down. Screams and the sound of flapping wings filled the small classroom as people tried to fight birds out of their hair and clothes. I looked over to Lydia who was on her knees panicking. I shoved the desk out of the way and shielding her from the birds, letting her take cover under the desk and my body. Lydia's whole body shook beneath mine and I kept batting birds away with my free arm.

It felt like the attack lasted a few seconds before we all slowly started to get to our feet to see the room in complete disarray, dead birds everywhere and people with cuts all over their bodies.

"Are you okay?" I looked at Lydia as she stood up and she nodded her head looking around the room. I glanced over my shoulder as Allison got to her feet and saw that she had a cut on her hand.

"You're bleeding." I pointed out and she pointed back at me.

"So are you. Is she okay?" Allison looked past me towards Lydia and I nodded. I tried calling Scott but he still hadn't answered his phone yet and by the time my dad arrived with some of his officers, they were releasing kids to go home. Ms. Blake was thoroughly shaken by her first class but she was maintaining. I almost felt like I needed to say welcome to Beacon Hills where strange, supernatural occurrences is the norm.

"Mr. Argent, you wouldn't have any insight to this would you?" Dad walked up to Chris Argent as he spoke privately with Allison.

"Me?" He seemed surprised by my dad's question. I was surprised by my dad's random question so I could understand his confusion.

"Yeah all this bizarre animal behavior…you must have seen something like this before, right?" Dad pressed on making Chris look over at Allison.

"I'm not sure why I would or why you'd think I would?" He chuckled trying to understand where my dad was coming from.

"I'm sorry I could have sworn I overheard my son talking about how you were an experienced hunter." My eyes went wide when Chris Argent looked over at me and I instantly went back to checking my phone wishing for the power of invisibility.

"Right. Not anymore, sorry." Chris Argent was no longer a hunter. That was new information. Information I'd have liked to obtain without my dad throwing me under the bus but obtained nonetheless. Dad checked on Allison before heading for the door. I followed him out and he rubbed his temples.

"I want you home. Whatever's going on with the animals around here is bizarre enough without you getting caught in it." Dad pointed his finger at me.

"What are you going to do?" I asked curiously. There wasn't much my dad could actually do as the Sheriff. I mean this is mother nature we're talking about. He couldn't slap some handcuffs on her.

"I'm going to the animal clinic to see if Dr. Deaton has any answers for me. Get home and stay inside." Dad took off once more and I finally got Scott on the phone as I walked out to the jeep.

"Finally I've been trying to reach you! We've got a serious problem at school. Ms. Blake's-" Scott cut me off.

"Can you tell me about it later?" Scott seemed preoccupied.

"Um nope I'm pretty sure this qualifies for immediate discussion." I said firmly. I could hear Scott let out a sigh like he was in the middle of something.

"I'm at Derek's. Meet us here." Scott said quickly before hanging up before I could ask him what the hell he was doing at Derek's. I hadn't seen Derek since the night things went down with Jackson and Gerard. He'd managed to successfully avoid all of us all summer as well. He apparently didn't know how to answer a text either judging by all the times I sent him one asking about Maggie with no response.

I hit my steering wheel frustrated with myself. I was off to a terrible start with the whole blocking Maggie out thing. It seemed like my brain was determined to keep her in there, even as I pulled up to the charred house. I hated coming here. I hated what it made me think of. I walked through the door to see Isaac in a hospital gown passed out and lying on a table and Scott sat in front of Derek.

"I'm not even sure I want to know what's going on." I waved my hands between them and the unconscious Isaac.

"Derek agreed to help me with my tattoo after I got him out of bind." I watched Scott give Derek a strange look as he narrowed his eyes on Scott's arm.

"A bind that ended with Isaac wearing a dress and being knocked out? I mean not that I have a problem with that. I like him silent as opposed to annoying me with every word that falls out of his mouth." I moved towards the two of them.

"I can see you haven't changed much in the last few months." Derek held out his hand towards Scott and he lifted his arm so he could grab it. I rolled my eyes at Derek's snide comment and moved behind him as he surveyed Scott's arm.

"Yeah I can see it. Two bands right? What does it mean?" Derek asked making Scott sit back on the crate he was sitting on.

"I don't know. It's just something I trace with my fingers. I can't get it out of my head." Scott explained making as much sense now as he did at the parlor.

"Why is this so important to you?" Derek pressed much like I had.

"Do you know what the word tattoo means?" Scott asked making me snort.

"To mark something." I answered giving Derek a wink. He didn't acknowledge my answer but Scott shook his head.

"That's in Tahitian. In Samoan it means open wound." My eyebrows went up in surprise at Scott's random fact. I didn't know he'd actually researched into tattoos up to this point. I thought it was more of an impulse buy.

"The night that Maggie left, I could tell something was off. Not because she rushed a goodbye or because she told me not to keep in touch but because of what she said when she showed up. She said that when you fall in love, you open yourself up to someone. You give them the ability to completely break you down in the worst way possible and sometimes love just isn't enough. Sometimes all you're left with is an open wound. All you can do is learn to deal with the aches and pains and keep moving forward." I swallowed the lump that had been growing in my throat the moment he mentioned Maggie.

"I always knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18 but I decided I wanted to get it now as a reward for not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted to. Even when it was so hard not to, especially without having Maggie around to talk to. I was just trying to give her the space she wanted. The space they both wanted. I know why Allison wanted space, I get it. I just…I don't know why Maggie wanted space too." Scott let out a sigh and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees.

"Four months later and it all still hurts. It feels like-"

"Like an open wound." I finished his sentence making him look up at me.

"Why didn't you ever tell me she said that?" I asked seeing him shrug his shoulders.

"You were already going through losing her again, I didn't think it would do you any good to hear that when you were already feeling it." Scott explained. Derek finally glanced over at me recognizing what Scott had just said before pulling something out of a box next to his leg.

"The pains going to be worst than anything you've ever felt." Derek said with a straight face like a true sadist.

"Do it." Scott took a deep breath as Derek lit a blow torch.

"Oh wow…nope. I'm out. I'll be outside playing angry bird-" Derek reached back and grabbed my shirt.

"You can hold him down." Derek shoved me back to where I was standing and I tripped over a root that was on the floor before getting behind Scott and placing my hands on his shoulders.

"Oh my God." I mumbled the closer Derek got with the torch. The moment it made contact with Scott's skin, he started freaking out.

"HOLD HIM DOWN!" Derek yelled at me over Scott's screams. I pressed down harder on his shoulders but Scott was a freaking werewolf. There was only so much I could do as his skin was being burned through. After a few moments of trying to grit my way through Scott's screams, his body went slack and he passed out.

"He'll be okay." Derek finished burning the skin of Scott's arm and put the torch down. I admired the black ink that now adorned Scott's bicep and had a new respect for it after hearing what he'd said earlier. Scott deserved it. I admired the restraint he had with giving Allison her distance this summer. I actually felt a bit ashamed in myself for having slipped so many times with trying to contact Maggie. I looked over at Derek as he sorted through some things in a box on his lap. I watched him walk over to check on Isaac and he glanced at his watch like he was waiting for something.

"So I guess asking you how Maggie's been would be stupid." I finally broke the silence that had filled the room.

"Why would it be stupid?" Derek shrugged like it was stupid for me to mention her and not actually ask.

"Because I'm not a complete idiot. If Nathan knows where she's been then so do you and I'm sure you'll just give me the blanket statement like he did." Derek turned around to face me.

"She's doing the best she can." I felt my body tense. Doing the best she could was hardly fine. Nathan had been saying she was fine and that she was safe but Derek had basically just shattered that illusion.

"What's that supposed to mean? I thought she was doing fine?" I took a step towards Derek and he pursed his lips like he knew he'd already said too much.

"She's been through a lot these past few months." Derek dismissed as he walked towards me to put the torch away.

"We've all been through a lot." I said throwing my arms out but this time Derek stopped what he was doing and looked over at me with a pained expression.

"I guess I didn't realize how important you two were to her life until you weren't there to help her through." I held Derek's gaze for a few moments before Scott shot awake and started breathing heavy. He grabbed his arm and smiled at the two bands that decorated the skin now.

"It worked." Scott ran his fingers across the bands and Derek looked away from me.

"How do you feel?" I cleared my throat handing Scott his shirt. He pulled it over his head and moved his sleeve up to look at the tattoo some more.

"I feel surprisingly good." Scott looked over at me and I tucked my hands in my pockets.

"It looks pretty damn permanent now." We started for the door, leaving Derek back in the room with Isaac.

"Maybe we need something permanent right now." I laughed at Scott.

"I'm not getting a tattoo Scotty but it's a nice thought." I hit his chest but he shook his head.

"No I mean about the other stuff. Everything that's happened the past few months. Everything just changes so fast. Everything's been so ephemeral." I stopped and looked at Scott impressed.

"Studying for the PSAT's?" I questioned proudly.

"Yup." Scott opened the front door and I glanced back at Derek watching him look at his phone. Before Scott could walk out of the door, he stopped to stare at it.

"You painted the door…why'd you paint the door?" Scott looked back at Derek who stepped away from Isaac.

"Go home Scott." Derek's face was pleading but Scott just turned his attention back to the door. Scott flicked his wrist and let his claws come out enough to scrap away some of the red paint to see there was a black mark underneath.

"What the-" I tried to focus my eyes on the imagine underneath the paint as Scott started to tear the layer of paint away, slash by slash.

"Scott!" Derek galloped towards us and stopped when he saw just how exposed the foreign symbol was.

"You said there were birds at school right?" Scott looked over at me and I nodded.

"The deer the other night was just like the deer that freaked out in the woods the night I got bit by the alpha…how many are there?" Scott asked Derek who let out a heavy sigh.

"A pack of them…" I ran my hand down my face. A new school year had just started and there was already a new big bad.

"An alpha pack." Derek added.

"Wait what? How is that even possible?" I questioned knowing the basic structure of a pack was made of one alpha and at least 3 betas.

"They have a leader. His name is Deucalion. We know they have Erica and Boyd. We've been trying to find them for the last four months." Scott stepped up towards Derek.

"We who?" I looked from Scott to Derek waiting for the answer but the sound of a rickety door being pried open came from the back of the rotting house.

"Who is it?" I stepped up behind Scott hoping he could tell me if there was a threat about to emerge.

"I can't get a scent on them." Scott whispered over his shoulder as Derek let his gaze drop to the floor.

"You can't get a scent on me because I won't let you." I felt my entire body tense up as the voice came into view around the corner. She stopped short as her boots made the floor boards beneath her feet creak, dark jeans and a dark tank clung to her body as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Maggie…" Scott said her name in disbelief and she merely nodded her head as a confirmation. After months of radio silence, many embarrassing voicemails and a drunken confession to her bedroom, there she stood. She almost looked taller, more built and somehow darker. Her hair, her skin, her eyes. Everything seemed different. Her eyes flicked to mine and wavered slightly. It was hard to stare at her without feeling the pull in my stomach. I wanted to scream, I wanted to hug her but I couldn't move. I couldn't even say anything.

"Maggie-" Derek breathed but Maggie cut her eyes away from me to put her hand up at Derek.

"Don't. You've said plenty already." She glared at Derek like if she could, she'd knock his head clean off his shoulders.

"What the hell is going on?" Scott moved towards Maggie but she backed away quickly making Scott stop.

"I appreciate that you want to help but we've got it under control. Thank you." Maggie tipped her chin down at Scott showing gratitude before walking towards Isaac as he started to sit up.

"Where is she? Where's the girl?" He said groggily. Maggie ran over and put her hand on his bare chest.

"What girl? Who is he talking about?" Derek walked towards them.

"I called for backup when we got separated. I'll find her but first we need to get him home. I can't work on him here." Maggie pulled the blanket up around Isaac's shoulders and he leaned into her neck. The way she touched him made my jaw clench.

"Maggie, wait a damn second." Scott finally moved close enough towards her for her to actually stop what she was doing and look at him.

"Can you please just talk to us? You've managed to keep us in the dark for months and now that you're back-" Maggie cut him off.

"I'm not back. I never left." Maggie raised her voice.

"What?" I finally spoke up and all three of them looked back at me. I felt my neck heat up from anger but I knew that there was so many things on the tip of my tongue that nothing would come out right.

"Look I can't stand here and catch up with you right now. Isaac is hurt and I'm the only one that's going to be able to make sure he gets healed as quickly as possible. We've been doing just fine on our own so please just stay out of it and let us handle it." Maggie kept her eyes on Scott as he stood with his jaw slack. Derek picked Isaac up and she helped carry him out to the car without another word. Scott turned around and looked at me stunned. Just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone again.

Scott and I stood rooted in the shambles of the Hale home for almost 10 minutes before I snapped out of it. He followed me to the jeep and I drove him home in silence trying to process what had just happened. Maggie was alive and well and apparently hadn't left Beacon Hills. She was wandering around town with Isaac and Derek doing who knows what while I went through a complete meltdown. I walked into Scott's house still fuming, feeling Scott's eyes on me, watching me carefully like he was waiting for me to erupt but I just shook my head.

"At least we know she's safe. I mean that's a plus right?" Scott finally broke through the silence.

"Safe with Derek? When has anyone ever been safe with Derek? Somethings off with her. I can't put my finger on it but she's not the same Maggie we knew four months ago. She's hiding something." The way she moved to help Isaac made me fume. They had clearly gotten closer over the summer but how close was something I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"So what are we going to do about it?" I looked over at Scott. I kept thinking of what dad had said about not going back to the same angry, bitter version of myself that I was when Maggie had come back the first time. I didn't want to be that guy again. I didn't want to hold onto that anger but there was no denying the hurt that threatened to poison my system with anger.

"Nothing. She put us in the dark for four months. She obviously doesn't want us to a part of whatever the hell she's gotten herself in so why bother?" I shrugged my shoulders but Scott let out a sigh.

"The guy I fought at the hospital was an alpha, Stiles. A really big, pissed off alpha that apparently had already had one run in with Maggie before. What if whatever is going on is something really dangerous? What if it gets her killed?" I met Scott's eyes this time and knew that he was seriously worried that this threat could actually be capable of killing Maggie. I pinched the bridge of my nose before clasping my hands together. I had no idea what the hell to do now. What I was supposed to feel or what I was even supposed to do about it. Maggie was back and somehow we were both still incredibly lost.


	2. Disconnected

**Authors Note: Thank you guys so much for keeping up with the story. Maggie is back and things are going to move pretty quickly. If you have legit questions and you're a guest, try to head over to my blog and asking because I can't really respond on here. Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

**[Maggie's POV]**

"What the hell happened? Why were they there Derek?!" I shouted as Isaac tried to get comfortable on the couch. He needed to be healed internally and apparently Derek was too busy spilling his guts to Scott and Stiles to bring him home.

"I couldn't reach you guys and Melissa had to call someone." Isaac yelped.

"Shut up and relax." I pushed Isaac's head back onto the pillow and opened the case of herbs that I needed to heal him.

"Where the hell were you? Why weren't you answering your phone?" I ignored Isaac earning a heavy eye roll from Derek.

"I was looking for you." He argued. I couldn't help but throw him an eye roll all my own.

"I told you that I was fine. I had it under control." I defended pulling Isaac's gown open and making him tense a bit from being so exposed. Like I hadn't seen him in his boxers before after living with him for four months.

"You don't get to have it under control Maggie. We had a plan and you went AWOL." Derek gestured to me.

"I called in some back up. You should have stayed the course." I pulled my hair back and out of my face so I could see what I was doing.

"Who was the girl?" Isaac asked.

"She's a mercenary. Deaton gave me her number in case things went south. Derek's eyebrows went up.

"Mercenary? Are you serious? How much did you pay her?" Derek walked around to look at me.

"It doesn't matter. She saved Isaac so it was worth it." I crushed the arnica in the dish and started to spread it over Isaac's skin where I felt the most pain. His legs jerked up slightly and I put my free hand in his hair to massage his scalp.

"If you'd let Scott help us then we wouldn't need to pay people on the outside for help. This is getting ridiculous Maggie." Derek complained. I finally lost it and slammed the salve down on the table I was sitting on.

"You made a promise to me and you broke it!" I yelled causing Isaac to wince.

"Be easy." Isaac hissed. The internal scaring from what the twins had done to him wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but he still needed some healing.

"What did you want me to do? I couldn't knock him out and disappear with Isaac. Scott's not stupid, Maggie." Derek argued.

"I know he's not stupid but there were a million things you could have done instead of spilling your guts. I told you that they aren't getting involved." I ran my hand over Isaac's side once more, softer this time and muttering the incantation in my head repeatedly. Isaac's face started to ease as the tissue under the skin healed.

"We can't do this alone anymore. We're running out of time and we almost lost Isaac this time because you disappeared again." I turned around like I'd just been slapped.

"Hey! I didn't disappear! I got caught up. I thought-" Derek narrowed his eyes at me.

"I know what you thought but we've been over this. You can't take on Deucalion alone. He was not the target. We were trying to get Erica and Boyd and instead we almost lost Isaac." I bit my lip knowing that Derek was right. I caught Deucalion's scent and nothing else mattered in that moment. I wanted the bastard dead. Something about him haunted me. The way he talked like he knew more about what I was than I did or how he made sure I knew that he was familiar with my family made him dangerous. The person he kept trying to impress upon me to be made him the #1 target.

"You're slipping Maggie. We haven't been able to reel you back in for weeks and you're getting reckless." Derek's tone had softened slightly but I shook my head.

"If we can't keep your grounded and focused than maybe we need some extra help. Maybe you need a reminder of who you really are." Derek reached out to me but I pulled away from him.

"You can keep denying that you don't need them in your life but it's become very clear that you do. You can't keep-" I cut Derek off unwilling to hear any of his bullshit about who I am.

"I'M WHO I HAVE TO BE TO SURVIVE!" I growled loudly at him. He stepped back as Isaac sat up and looked between us.

"We've spent months trying to track these bastards down and get Erica and Boyd back and you want me to suddenly endanger the lives of more people? I'm not going to do that Derek! I'm not going to bring them into this because for some reason being a Hale means everyone around us, everyone we love and care about has to die in order for us to live. You stood in the preserve that day and promised me that we would keep them out of this and now you think because I'm not looking for share time and cuddles that I can't do this? I'm trying to protect them! You know that!" I felt like Derek wasn't hearing me. He was looking at me and he was listening but he wasn't hearing how desperate I was to keep Scott and Stiles safe.

"Can I say something?" Isaac spoke up.

"If it's helpful then yes." Derek warned.

"It's not Maggie's fault-" Derek cut Isaac off.

"Shut up." I got up and walked towards Derek.

"What do you want from me? You want me to tell you how I'm feeling? Will that ease your mind? I feel angry. I'm pissed off that we haven't gotten them back yet and I'm terrified that what I did…if anything happens to them…" I shook my head trying not to let myself go there. I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to Erica and Boyd. We've been trying so hard to get them back, it can't all be for nothing.

"Whether you like it or not, Scott is a part of this. Ennis and Deucalion have already got a lock on him. It would be detrimental to him if he didn't know what he was up against." Derek explained making me even more aggravated. I finished working on Isaac and grabbed the blanket off of the back of the couch to put over him.

"I'll talk to Scott and let him know that we can handle this. Do you think you can manage to go and get us something for dinner or is that too much for you, Alpha Hale?" I knew I was testing my limits with Derek but I was pissed. This whole situation was a freaking nightmare. I hadn't planned on seeing Scott and Stiles so soon. I wanted to take down the alpha pack and get Erica and Boyd back safely before having to face them and tell them why I left. The moment I saw Stiles, I felt like there was a part of me that wanted to run to him that I was choking the life out of. I couldn't let him see me the way I am now. I couldn't let him see the monster these alpha's had turned me into. Derek grabbed his jacket off the chair and stomped towards the door.

"You made the choice to push them away and I respect that but keep in mind you also made the choice to follow me as your alpha." Derek gritted his teeth standing by the door.

"Are you pulling rank right now? Are you seriously pulling rank while I heal one of your betas?" I asked glancing back at him with an amused smile.

"I'm not pulling rank. I'm telling you that as your alpha, you need to stick to the plans we make or someone will get hurt. As your family, I'm telling you that I will always have your back but you're wrong about this. You're wrong to think we can do this without help." Derek threw the heavy door open and shut it behind him. I listened for him to ride the elevator down and get in his car to pull away before I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Am I allowed to talk now?" Isaac asked carefully.

"I'm sorry I let you get hurt. Derek is right, I should have been there. Don't you dare tell him I said that." I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and huffed out a breath.

"What happened to me wasn't your fault. Derek wasn't saying it was. We know what we're up against by now. He's just freaked out that you're starting to pull away from us." Isaac played with a loose string on the quilt I had covered him with.

"I'm not pulling away. I spend every waking moment with you guys and if you haven't noticed, we're out of time." I cleaned up my remedies kit and Isaac reached out for my hand.

"We both know that's not true. Your nightmares have gotten worse." I pulled my hand out of Isaac's and rested it in my lap.

"Stop listening to me sleep perv." I said wanting to give him a shove but remembering that he was in the process of tissue binding.

"It's hard not to when you're crying." I felt the blush rising in my cheeks embarrassed. The nightmares had come back out of nowhere but I didn't like talking about them. They were always the same. Someone I loved was being tortured in front of me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'd gladly die hundred times over before having to watch that.

"How did you feel when you saw them?" I looked up at Isaac who kept his eyes on me. I knew what he was trying to do. It was too hard to think about though. It was too hard to go there and still be able to pull myself back.

"You should rest. If you think you can make it up the steps you can have my bed." I got up from the table and walked towards the balcony door.

"Maggie…those dreams…they're just dreams. This is real. You and me, Derek…Scott and Stiles…if you live in fear of the things in your dreams than it's bound to become your reality." Isaac sat up on his elbows and I shook my head before pushing the door open and shutting it tightly behind me. I gripped the railing and tried to catch my breath. Today had been a lot heavier than most. We'd almost lost Isaac and now I was going to have to somehow convince Scott and Stiles to stay out of this mess to insure they didn't get themselves killed. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let those nightmares become my reality.

**[Scott's POV]**

I walked down the sidewalk with Stiles but couldn't get my mind to clear. It was just yesterday that we 'd seen Maggie and discovered that there was a new threat in Beacon Hills but here we were trying to attend some stupid party that wasn't even for our school. I couldn't shake the bad vibes I had. Everything about Maggie seemed different. Her appearance, her posture, even her scent was different. She had dismissed us so quickly just to get Isaac back to wherever he called home without even so much as an explanation for why she froze us out. We've faced everything together. Peter, Kate, Gerard…why was this different?

"Can you stop with that face?" Stiles pulled me from my thoughts.

"What face?" I looked over at him seeing how anxious and annoyed he was.

"Don't _what face_ me, you know what face." He rolled his eyes.

"Well Stiles I was born with this face so I'm sorry if it annoys you." I shrugged not knowing what exactly I could do to correct my face.

"It's that look that screams the last thing you want to be doing is going to a party but this is exactly what we need after the world's worst first day back to school." Stiles explained.

"Yeah but this isn't even our high school's party." I pointed out.

"Which is why it's perfect. Plus Heather has been dying to meet you. Maybe you'll meet someone-" I cut Stiles off.

"I already told you I don't want to date anyone right now." I reminded him making him stop in his tracks.

"I didn't mean meet someone like that. I just mean make a new friend. If anything else, I really want you to meet Heather. She's really great and got me through this shitty summer so please just suck it up for one night and let's try and pretend none of that other crap exists." Stiles was desperate to get his mind off of what happened. I knew it hurt him to see Maggie go with Isaac like that. Hell, just seeing her brush us off like that was enough to make us both pretty upset but there was still a lot up in the air for them.

"Fine. I can do that." I let out a sigh and started walking again.

"YES! I love you, this is why you're my best friend." Stiles gripped my shoulders and started to jump excitedly.

"Tonight, we're moving on. No Allison, no Maggie-" I stopped dead when Maggie walked up from the street towards us.

"Maggie." I hit Stiles chest to stop him and he followed my gaze to see her standing in front of us, leather jacket on and hair pulled back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Stiles asked more confused than upset. She opened her mouth for a second looking at Stiles like she was about to answer him but then stopped herself.

"I need to talk to you." She flicked her eyes to mine and Stiles huffed.

"Wow that's real mature. Sorry but he's mine tonight." Stiles pulled on my arm and she stepped in front of me.

"It's important." She looked like she wished she could communicate with me using her eyes just to avoid having to upset Stiles but it was already too late.

"Come in with us." I offered making Stiles eyes go wide.

"What? Are you…are you serious?" Stiles complained.

"If it's important than you'll stay and talk to me but I made plans with Stiles tonight." I wasn't going to get involved in another tug of war between them. Maggie didn't seem to want to fight with Stiles either judging by her body language but I could tell she was on edge. Stiles threw his hands up before she could answer and walked ahead of us. When I started to follow, Maggie's feet moved with mine entering the house. I smiled just slightly but she didn't return it.

"STILES! HI!" The blonde girl I could only assume was Heather approached us with a wide grin.

"Hey! There's the birthday-" Stiles was cut off when Heather leaned up to kiss him full on the mouth. Maggie tensed next to me trying to hide herself behind my shoulder. I could actually hear the heavy stuttered thump of her heart like her world was coming to a screeching halt.

"I'm so glad that you made it. This must be Scott and…" Heather looked over Stiles shoulder at us and Maggie shook her head.

"Nobody…I'm nobody." Like she managed to flick some sort of switch in her body, she was standing up straight, jaw squared off and head held high as she looked at Heather.

"Well help yourselves to something to drink. I'm going to steal him for a bit. This party is lacking in some really good wine." Heather held out her hand and Stiles took it, glancing back at the both of us before following Heather downstairs. Heather's friend looked me up and down before rolling her eyes and walking away. Maggie reached into her jacket and pulled out a flask to take a swig from.

"I see you come prepared." I gestured to it as she shoved it back in her jacket pocket. My phone rang again and I saw it was Allison again.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Maggie asked me before I ignored the call and pocketed it once more.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk yet. I'm kind of nervous about it. I've been focusing on school work most of the summer, trying to at least." I explained.

"That's good. That sounds pretty normal for a teenage werewolf. Why the hell would you want to complicate your life after you just got it sorted out?" She questioned cocking her eyebrow up. I looked her over for a few moments this time, really taken in just how much she had changed. She stood differently, like she was on guard and tense. Her face was more drawn and harsh, her eyes cold.

"Look I can tell you've had some sort of catharsis over the summer-" Maggie's eyebrows pinned together in surprise.

"Catharsis? Wow you really have been studying up. That's good." She cracked a smile and I felt at ease for a moment.

"If you relax and hang out for a bit, we can really talk and get to the bottom of all of this." I took a step towards her but her smile disappeared quickly as she stepped backwards away from me.

"I didn't come here to party Scott. I came here to tell you to steer clear of all of this stuff happening with the Alpha pack. It's not your problem." Her business face was back almost instantly.

"It doesn't have to just be your problem either." I felt like I shouldn't have to tell her that. She should already know it.

"I didn't go MIA for four months for nothing Scott! Everything I've done this summer, I did without you guys, to try and protect you." She explained growing increasingly aggravated with me.

"Since when have you had to start protecting us? We've been doing just fine with all the other threats that have tried to take us down because we've faced it together." I reminded her but she snapped.

"THIS IS DIFFERENT!" She realized she has yelled and caught a few people's attention so she calmed herself.

"They are different! You have no idea what they're capable of. I didn't spend all this time away from you two just to watch you get killed." I could smell the fear and anger wafting off of her. Whatever this pack had done to her over the summer had her visibly shaken.

"You're right, I have no idea what these guys are capable of or what you've been through this summer but you already know we aren't programmed to let you face a threat alone otherwise you wouldn't have left like you did." I pointed out. There's no way we would have let Maggie face whatever this pack is about without us. We've always handled the threats as a unit. We're stronger that way. Maggie glanced away from me and I knew she was trying not to listen out for Stiles heartbeat in the house. I did the same thing at Lydia's birthday party despite fighting with Allison. I had to know she was alright.

"And for one second you forgot that you weren't the only one who carries the burden of being a wolf because I heard your heart stutter when Heather kissed Stiles." I stepped closer to her and she met my gaze this time. Her eyes held a certain pain that I didn't recognize, a pain that was desperate like she had a secret she was keeping but knew she couldn't tell me no matter how much she wanted to. The only thing that caused me to look away was the vibration that came from my pocket.

"Answer your phone Scott." I broke the eye contact I had with Maggie unwillingly and when I looked up, she was heading across the party to grab a red cup. She got lost in the crowd and I silently cursed myself for letting her wander without getting more out of her. There was still so many unanswered questions.

**Text from Allison:**  
_Hey I need to talk to you. It's important. Can I meet you somewhere?_

I looked at the text a few times and knew that I had to face her eventually. Maybe having Maggie around would make it easier to deal with whatever she had to say. I texted Allison the address of the party and went looking through the house for Maggie. I had to get to the bottom of this.

**[Stiles POV]**

I was still in shock as Heather pulled me down the steps, whispering to shut the door behind me as we descended down the steps.

"You know that was Maggie right?" I said gesturing back up the stairs.

"Yeah I remembered the picture you showed me. Is she your date?" Heather asked as we reached the bottom of the steps.

"No way! She just came back and is actually ignoring me as childish as that sou-" Heather's lips were on my once more making me melt a bit. We'd gone all summer talking about my epic failed attempt at a relationship with Maggie and yet Heather still found me kiss worthy apparently.

"Stiles, I just turned 17 today." She took my hand in hers and pulled me through the shelves of wine.

"Yes, I am quite aware. I'm actually pretty sure I'm supposed to be giving you gifts not the other way around." I joked not sure what to say.

"You know what I want for my birthday?" She smiled up at me biting the corner of her lip as she pushed me into the pillar that sat dead in the center of the shelves.

"A bike?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her but she clearly had her mind on something else as she put both her hands on my stomach to support herself while she kicked off her shoes.

"I want to not be a 17 year old virgin." I swallowed the lump in my throat unsure of what she was saying but before I could form a response she pulled on my neck again to meet her lips. I didn't mind kissing her at all. Kissing was something I definitely wish I had more of in my life but I jump slightly when I felt her hands tug my belt open. I prayed should couldn't tell how aroused I was but judging by the face I must have been making, I was completely ruining the moment.

"Have you never done it either?" She questioned looking almost a little disappointed.

"Turned 17? No not yet. I'll probably have a big party like this when I do. Spoiler alert, you're invited." I chuckled instantly regretting it. She gave me a look waiting for me to fess up and I grumbled.

"No not yet. I told you that I planned that epically pathetic summer romance with Maggie that never actually happened. I kind of figured it would happen then." I explained feeling like such a loser.

"Well would you want to maybe change the girl in that scenario? I mean I know she's back but maybe if she saw just how much of a catch you are, she'd realize how badly she screwed up." Heather was always genuine with me. I know she flirted with me but I never thought it was to the point where she'd want to have sex with me in the wine cellar for her birthday.

"I mean would you be okay with that? Do you want to lose your virginity?" Heather asked almost seeming confused by my hesitation.

"What? Yes of course I do. I'd totally be cool with losing my virginity I'm just a bit…surprised I guess." My head was all over the place. I was very much into the idea of having sex but I didn't picture it like this and when I did picture it, it was with Maggie in someplace private. The thought alone made me angry but the boner I was currently sporting kept my mind from getting too pissed about it.

"You want to…with me?" I questioned again making Heather sigh.

"Look Stiles, I know you're still in love with Maggie." She put a hand on my chest and my jaw dropped.

"What? No! No I'm totally over her." I tried to cover but she just smiled at me sadly. That smile I couldn't escape from all the people who knew how badly I was done by Maggie.

"Yeah fine okay. But shouldn't I get points for really wishing I wasn't?" I admitted softly hoping Maggie couldn't hear us.

"It's totally fine that you are but this is just about sex. She clearly doesn't deserve you. You're a great guy and she should never have treated you the way she did." Heather rested her hands on my chest and I bit my bottom lip. I hated the sympathy I got from people. I hated that Maggie put me in the position to receive it.

"Yeah…I know." Heather lifted my chin so I could look down at her.

"I want to make you feel good, you deserve that, Stiles. I've loved getting closer with you this summer. Let's just end it on a good note as friends who helped each other out." Heather smiled up at me, wetting her lips gracefully and I stared down at her for a few moments. What the hell was I waiting for? I'm 16 years old and a beautiful girl wants to have sex with me. It's nothing like I had planned but screw plans. This was living in the moment. This was my onward and upward. I wasn't going to continue to be the guy who got ditched over the summer anymore. It was time to man up and move on.

"Yeah yeah I can…I can get on board with that. Just friends…having sex." Heather attacked my lips with vigor and I laced my fingers into her blonde curls. I let her continue to take my belt off and unbutton my pants giving me a bit of release from the restrained fabric. Her hands trailed down my stomach but before they could get into my pants, I stopped.

"Wait…I don't have any-" She cut me off, breathless.

"My brother has some in the upstairs bathroom." Heather said, lips red and glossy. My eyebrows went up.

"I should-" She cut me off once more.

"Yes Stiles you should go get them." She giggled at me and I tried to sprint towards the stairs but my pants started to sag. I almost tumbled into the shelf and tried to play it off but she totally noticed. I buckled my pants back up, taking the steps two at a time before finding the second set of stairs to climb. When I found the bathroom, I shut the door and started the search.

"Condoms…condoms…condoms." For a second, I forgot what condoms might actually look like but I blamed the adrenaline. I did own a package of condoms. I had bought some a few weeks after Maggie had moved out of the house. I replaced the old ones she had stumbled across when she put my laundry away one day. I don't know why I ended up buying them but I regretted not having them on me until I finally found the holy grail.

"Yes! Thank God!" I held up the blue package and read the front. The letter's XXL taunted me in bold, yellow blocking. I glanced down at my crotch knowing that most things that were XXL were challenging. I couldn't wear an XXL shirt, I'd swim in it. Whenever I got an XXL hungry man dinner, I always ended up wasting at least a quarter of it and don't get me started on XXL hats. I tried to order one offline and it could basically fit my head and Scott's in it.

"Okay don't freak out. Stay calm Stiles. You can make this work. There's a sweet, beautiful, sexy girl downstairs that wants to have sex with you. She wants to make you feel good and you aren't going to let some stupid feeling in your chest change that! You've got this." I gave myself a mini pep talk before opening the door to the bathroom and taking in a deep breath.

"I've been here long enough. Come and get me now." I turned my head hearing a voice down the hallway.

"Look I know Derek told you that I need this but I can't be here. I can't...do this. Please come get me." Maggie was pleading with someone in the phone, I could only assume it was Isaac. She must have picked up my scent or heard my heartbeat because she turned around startled.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked seeing that she was in Heather's room. She hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket before giving me a look like she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to me or not. Her mouth opened and closed clearly making her decision.

"I don't get you." She looked up at me but couldn't hold my gaze.

"I was just leaving." She muttered trying to walk past me but I moved in her path.

"You've gotten pretty good at that haven't you?" I gritted out making her step back from me.

"I can't do this with you right now...please" She still couldn't meet my eyes.

"You want me to make this easy for you? Why? You didn't make it easy for me...for any of us." I spat trying to keep myself from getting too angry.

"I have to go." She went for the door again but this time she ran into my chest.

"Wouldn't want to keep Isaac waiting I guess." This got her attention.

"It blows my mind how insanely selfish and self absorbed you are. I mean I should have believed Peter when he said you'd run off with a wolf but Isaac? Really?" Maggie's facial expression hardened.

"Isn't heather waiting to jump your bones?" She growled stepped past me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I caught her arm and she turned around.

"Your fly is down genius." She gestured to my crotch and I quickly zipped my pants feeling embarrassed.

"Heather's a friend and what goes on between us is none of your business. You left me, remember?" I yelled as she got to the edge of the hallway and stopped. She put her arms up in the air and shrugged her shoulders.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. It's none of my business who you're friends with or who you sleep with." She looked like she was worn down. She had dark circles under her bloodshot eyes.

"I'll stay out of your way." She looked me over once more before retreating down the stairs. I didn't follow her. I wanted to hit the wall. I wanted to hit Isaac in his stupid face. I let out a frustrated sigh before shoving my hands in my pockets feeling a foil packet resting in it.

"Oh crap!" I instantly remembered Heather was waiting for me in the basement and booked it down to meet her.

"Hey I only got one but I think maybe we should talk first..." I reached the bottom of the steps and saw that I was alone in the cellar.

"Heather?" I called out thinking maybe she was going to jump out and maul me with hot hands and wet lips but the only thing left was her shoes. She must have gotten tired of waiting and found another somebody to make magic with. I shoved the condom back in my pocket before trudging up the stairs to find Scott.

"Maggie will you just wait a damn minute!" I heard Scott yell from out front as a couple was coming in the front door, I walked out shutting the door. Maggie glanced over Scott's shoulder at me and shook her head.

"You want me to be honest with you? I'll break it down really simple. This threat, this pack...they're a group of killers much worse than anything we've ever faced. What they want is nothing you can give them. This is on me. So forget that you saw me. Forget about the girl that said goodbye to you 4 months ago because she's gone. She's been gone for a while." Maggie looked between the both of us but Scott wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Why won't you let us help you?" He asked taking a few steps towards her.

"YOU CAN'T!" She bellowed so loud the street lights flickered. She took a deep breath as Isaac pulled up in Derek's camero.

"You both need to stay out of this because the only thing you are to me right now is a distraction and a liability." Maggie said firmly. I swallowed the lump in my throat watching as she got into the car with Isaac who didn't wait long before taking off away from the house. Scott turned around and looked at me.

"You were right. Something happened to her. Something's not right at all." I saw the concern on Scott's face and didn't know what to offer him. I barely recognized the girl that stood upstairs with me. It's like a shell of who she used to be, a zombie walking around and pushing everything that seemed familiar away like it was on fire.

"Let's just call it a night." I patted Scott on the shoulder and he looked back at the house.

"What about Heather? Thing's took a pretty interesting turn early on." Scott reminded me of how much I had blown tonight. I had come pretty close to losing my virginity and I finally got Maggie to talk to me...sort of. I was drained and ready to go home.

"I think she found someone more appealing to occupy her time. Sort of missed my window. I think we've both had enough mental anguish for one night. Let's pack it in." I clapped my hands together but Scott didn't move his feet.

"Actually, I'm sort of waiting for someone." He looked almost embarrassed to meet my eyes. My face fell into an unamused stare.

"Do I even need to ask?" Apparently I didn't because just as the words left my mouth, Lydia and Allison came walking up the sidewalk.

"Really Scott? I mean really?" I cocked an eyebrow at him and he gave me a shrug that told me he couldn't help himself. He looked surprised to see Lydia with her though. I gave her a nod and she flashed me a quick smile that screamed this was the last place she wanted to be as well.

"This isn't the talk we were going to have, is it?" Scott asked but Allison just casted her eyes to the ground shaking her head no.

"I need to show you something." She rolled up the sleeve of her jacket revealing a oddly shaped bruise.

"Wow that's kinda gnarly. How did you do that?" I looked over Scott's shoulder at the bruise. Scott reached out like he was going to touch it but stopped himself.

"There was a girl that came to the school looking for you after the bird attack. She was desperate to find you and I think she might have been followed." Allison explained.

"That's all speculation. Well she was looking for you but Allison may just be a bit too caffeinated." Lydia spoke up brushing a piece of her hair off her face. I caught sight of some darkened skin on her arm too and pointed it out.

"Did she grab you too?" Lydia rolled her eyes at Allison who was silently encouraging her to roll up her sleeve which she eventually did. Staring at both bruises side by side, they almost looked identical.

"Damn that's some grip." I cringed.

"Maybe it was the same girl Isaac was talking about. The one that saved him, that Maggie called in." Scott reminded me.

"Why would she be looking for you? She's never even met you." I furrowed my brows, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Wait, Maggie's back? You found her?" Lydia asked surprised.

"Sort of. Trust me, there's no heartwarming story of her surprise return." I rolled my eyes.

"We need to show this to Derek. Maybe he'll know what it means." Scott offered making both myself and Allison heavy sigh.

"I continue to hate your plans." I rubbed the back of my neck knowing that Derek might be our only option while Maggie was giving us the freeze out. If there was one thing I hated more than what was going on between us and Maggie, it was asking Derek Hale for any sort of assistance.

**[Maggie's POV]**

I started fixing coffee as Isaac paced the floor of the loft. We had run out of ideas to try and restore his memories that Deucalion stole and Deaton refused to do anymore ice bath's on me with my nightmares becoming so frequent.

"Hey Isaac, can you tell me what you used on the floor?" I had my back to him still as I put sugar in my coffee.

"What? I didn't use anything on the floor." I could tell Isaac was now looking at his feet.

"I figured you must have put something on the floor considering all the pacing you were doing could have buffed the floor at least through two levels." I turned around seeing his annoyed expression as I walked a mug of black coffee over to Derek and sat it on the table.

"I'm starting not to like this idea. It sounds kind of dangerous." Isaac continued his pacing.

"It is dangerous." Derek sighed before I hit his shoulder. He rolled his eyes knowing why I'd hit him but didn't say anything.

"Yeah I definitely don't like this plan and I definitely don't like him…no offense." Isaac gestured to me but I walked over to the table he paced in front of. I'd have made him some coffee but caffeine was the last thing he needed right now.

"I wouldn't let him hurt you Isaac. You know that." I put both hands down on the table watching him shake his jittery hands out.

"You'll be fine." Derek didn't bother to look back at Isaac but he knew I was throwing a glare at him. He had been pouting the whole night when he found out that I talked to Scott about staying out of all this. I respect that Derek was the alpha but Scott was my best friend first.

"Does it have to be him though? Can't one of you do it?" Isaac whined.

"He knows how to do it, I don't. It would be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself. Besides do you really want Maggie to be rooting around in what goes on in your head?" Derek finally looked over at Isaac who blushed a bit. I shook my head at the both of them.

"You know, a little empathy wouldn't kill you, pouty wolf." Derek looked at me with exasperation written all over his face. I gave him a cheesy grin and he mimicked it right back.

"You know Scott doesn't trust him right?" Isaac broke through our childishness.

"Personally I trust Scott." Isaac swallowed hard and I kept my eyes on him. He had carefully treaded on the subject of talking to Scott all summer but never had he brought him up like this before. So obviously trying to bring Scott into all of this.

"Do you trust Scott more than me? Do you honestly think I'd let you get hurt again?" I asked honestly walking around the table and he tilted his head to the side like he regretted what he'd said.

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked before Isaac could reach out to me.

"Yeah." Isaac looked like he was afraid he'd managed to offend us both. He gave it a few moments before biting his lip with words he still had on his tongue.

"I still don't like him." Isaac whispered out pulling a face.

"Nobody likes him." Derek sighed making me hit his shoulder.

"It's true and you know it." Derek looked up at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Well…that's true." I shrugged knowing it was fact. I mean I loathed the man but after spending some time with him, he wasn't horrible to be around. The door pulled opened and his designer boots clicked across the floor as he smirked.

"Boys, FYI coming back from the dead has left some of my abilities somewhat impaired but the hearing still works. So I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is you're feeling straight to my face." I rubbed my forehead as he eyed both Derek and Isaac.

"We don't like you." Derek said bluntly making me snort a laugh. Peter sent me a look as I covered my mouth quickly. Derek slammed the book he was reading shut and tossed it on the table.

"Now shut up and help us." He got to his feet and held Peter's amused gaze. The two of them had only butted heads more now that I was on a speaking relationship with Peter. It's not like I was calling him daddy or giving him father's day gifts but Derek was firmly against that I let him in even just a little bit. He had answers to questions about my mom and I wanted them. Along the way, he became tolerable. I didn't trust him but I didn't hate him as much as I used to. I had focused all of my anger and hatred into the Alpha pack and Derek often expressed to me how anger was always blinding to threats.

"Please?" I offered up seeing Peter's face soften before looking back at Derek as he gave a heavy eye roll at my plea.

"Fair enough." Peter shrugged out of his coat and draped it on the back of the couch.

"Pull that chair around here, won't you? You'll need some room to flail." I looked over at Isaac who instantly questioned him after hearing the word flail.

"Maggie, hold his hand for a few moments." He waved his hand around in disgust as I walked over and reached for Isaac's hand after he sat in the chair.

"Maggie isn't helping you do this." Derek spoke up ready to get to his feet but Peter clicked his tongue against his teeth.

"She won't be. This will work better if he's relaxed. Maggie has a calming effect on him." I rubbed my thumb over the top of Isaac's hand and he blushed slightly apparently confirming Peter's statement.

"How do you know how to do this again?" Isaac questioned shifting to the side of his chair.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by alphas since it's a skill that requires a bit of practice. One slip and you could paralyze someone or kill them." I watched Peter move his claws behind Isaac's head and I tried to conceal my nerves so they wouldn't bleed into Isaac's.

"Is this going to hurt him?" I asked hopeful but earned a rather sarcastic smile.

"Well sweetheart I'm retrieving slivers of memories deep in his mind so it's not going to feel like a deep tissue massage." Peter went back to searching for the right spot.

"But it's safe? I mean you've done this before right?" I gave Isaac's hand a squeeze as he looked back at Peter.

"Don't you trust me?" Peter held his hands up, claws still extended and a questionable look on his face.

"No? Of course I don't trust you. Is that a serious question?" Isaac looked between the three of us before Peter pushed the back of his head with the palm of his hand so he would face forward.

"Isaac." I said his name attempting to get him to be reasonable but he had every right to be concerned. Just because I had learned to accept Peter for his flaws didn't mean everyone else had.

"We'll be right here. You don't have to worry. Trust me." Derek reassured Isaac who took another deep breath as I let go of his hand to walk over towards the table.

"And I promise to heal you up as much as I can afterwards." Isaac huffed out a breath before glancing between Derek and me.

"I hate to break it to you but you Hale's aren't so great at the whole comforting thing." Isaac barely got to finish his sentence when Peter punctured the back of his neck with his claws causing Isaac's entire body to seize up and his eyes to flash golden. I went to step towards them but Derek grabbed my hand holding me back.

Peter's eyes were an icy blue and his jaw dropped as he got sucked into whatever he was seeing inside Isaac's brain. Derek tensed next to me but didn't drop my hand. As Isaac started to fight Peter, I moved towards them again making Derek stand up concerned.

"Wait I see them!" Peter gritted his teeth, the sound making me grind my own together.

"What do you see?" Derek finally spoke but Peter was still attached to Isaac. When he finally pulled away, he stumbled into the table and Isaac slumped forward. I slide to my knees in front of him and place a careful hand on his cheek.

"Hey…hey you with me?" I asked seeing tears roll down his cheeks. His lip was trembling and I could smell the blood that leaked from the puncture wounds of his neck.

"You're okay. You're okay." I wiped his tears away and could hear how fast his heart was beating.

"What did you see?" Derek asked making Peter push off the table putting some distance between us.

"Uh…it was confusing." He shook his hands out and clenched them together in fists like whatever he pulled from Isaac had burned him.

"Take your time." I said looking away from Isaac and putting my hand on his neck to heal the punctures. He hissed at the contact but relax as I took the pain away.

"I-images…vague images…shapes." Peter shook his head like he was trying to make sense of what he saw.

"But you saw something?" Derek pressed.

"Isaac found them." He said in shock.

"Erica and Boyd?" Derek took a step towards Peter and he snapped.

"I don't know. I barely saw them!" He shook his head out again and I noticed Isaac's free hand shaking. I took ahold of it and he looked at me, eyes still shiny.

"It's okay. You're safe." I whispered squeezing his hand.

"But you did see them." Derek was becoming more and more impatient as Peter struggled to pull himself together.

"And worse..." He looked back at me and Derek's body straightened out.

"Deucalion." Derek slowly sat back down on the couch and looked over at Isaac and I.

"He was talking about time running out." Isaac looked over at Peter.

"What does it mean?" He whispered just barely.

"He's going to kill them." Derek's jaw tightened.

"No no he didn't say that. He made them a promise that by the full moon they'd be dead." I got to my feet slowly.

"The next full moon?" Derek asked.

"That can't be…that's-" Peter cut me off.

"Tomorrow night." He confirmed. I gripped my hair tightly knowing that our time was up.

"What do we do now?" Isaac asked looking at me before glancing over at Derek.

"You need to rest. You're still healing and the couch isn't working for you." I helped Isaac to his feet and let him lean on me as I escorted him up the stairs to my room.

"I should be out there helping you guys." Isaac complained.

"You are no good to us hurt. Just take a few hours to rest up. After what they put you through, the hospital and what Peter just did, your body needs a little rest." Isaac sat on the side of my bed rubbing the back of his neck.

"You know it's not your fault right? I know you guys like to take on the problems of the world and blame yourselves but I knew what I was walking into." I shoved Isaac back on the bed and pulled the quilt from the chair to put over him. He always laughed when I tried to cover him up. He often told me that I didn't need to be tucked in at his age but I did it anyway.

"You guys?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Hale's…you have this guilt complex. Well except Peter. He kind of reminds me of that vampire with the shitty haircut from that movie you made me watch." Isaac pulled a face and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"First off, the movie is Lost Boys and second, that's called 80's hair. Kiefer Sutherland would not appreciate your snark." I tucked Isaac in and he grabbed my hand.

"Just be careful. Don't do anything stupid." Isaac wasn't trying to tell me what to do. His tone was more of a plea. I gave him a smile before walking towards the door. I shut the door and went down the spiraled stairs just in time to see Derek walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked watching him pocket his phone.

"Scott just called. He wants me to check out something that might be a possible lead to that girl that saved Isaac." Derek explained. I looked around the loft and noticed that Peter was nowhere to be found.

"I told him to leave. I wasn't going to leave him here with Isaac and I figured you'd want to go with me. If you want to tell me all the things I've done wrong in the last half hour, you'll have to do it in the car." Derek gestured to the door and I shook my head putting my hands up. I didn't want to argue with him. I wanted to get Erica and Boyd back and take this damn pack down.

"You're the alpha." I followed him out hearing his grunt as he closed the door behind us both. I remained quiet the entire drive to the school and carefully made my way through the hallways to avoid being seen. We were still fairly early but the last thing I needed was for people to see me wandering the halls with Derek when I hadn't even bothered to attend.

"Are you going to be okay to do this?" Derek asked me as we walked through the hallway.

"I just want to get Erica and Boyd back before it's too late." I breathed looking over at him. I could feel his eyes on me and that stupid look I hated. That one him and Isaac gave me any chance they got. I never thought in a million years that the two of them would actually be pushing me to talk to Scott and Stiles. A lot had changed in the four months that I've been training and search for Boyd and Erica. I knew why they thought I needed Scott and Stiles in my life but I couldn't let them see who I'd become. We walked into the classroom where Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Allison stood waiting for us.

"Maggie…Stiles said-." Lydia looked surprised to see me but I cut her off.

"All good things, I'm sure." I gave her a soft smile before taking a seat out of the way.

"What are we here for?" Derek interrupted probably feeling how tense I'd become the moment I walked into the room. Stiles kept his mouth shut but his eyes on me. I didn't meet his gaze though. It was hard enough being in the same room with him. Allison and Lydia stepped forward and showed Derek bruising on their arms. There was a distinct outline of strong fingers and I knew Braeden was capable of snapping their arms. She was definitely trying to send a message.

"I don't see anything." Derek dismissed it almost immediately.

"Look again." Scott implored.

"How's a bruise going to tell me where Erica and Boyd are?" Derek crossed his arms over his chest and took a step away from Allison and Lydia.

"It's the same on both sides, exactly the same." Scott pointed out as I looked at the shapes.

"It's nothing." Derek kept his eyes narrowed on Allison. We'd talked quite a bit in the beginning of my training about Allison and how he didn't want me going overboard like she had. From where I stood, I didn't think she had. She'd hurt us, hurt the pack but she'd also lost her mother suddenly. No matter how old you are, losing your mother kills a part of you. Sometimes things happen in our lives that make us sink into the darkness. I understood her. I couldn't hold that grudge but Derek did a good job for the both of us.

"Pareidolia, seeing patterns that aren't there." Lydia thinned her lips at the boys making me shake my head and hide a smile behind my hair.

"It's a subset of apophenia." She added. Derek looked over at Scott ready to throttle him.

"Let's go." He gestured to me.

"They're just trying to help." Scott defended making Derek's eyebrows go up.

"These two? This one used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle, thanks by the way." Derek faked a smile but Lydia remained unaffected by his statement.

"And this one shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack." Derek pointed at Allison with such fury. It was like words were his only weapon.

"Come on now, no one died. There may have been a little maiming…some mangling but no death. That's what I call an important distinction." Stiles finally spoke up to lighten the mood

"Maggie was tortured in her basement." Derek gritted his teeth making Stiles stiffen.

"Derek!" I said his name simply making him take a deep breath through his nose to calm himself.

"My mother died." Allison whispered making Derek look at her.

"Your families little honor code killed your mother, not me." Derek defended.

"That girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you." She didn't back down when it came to Derek and I admired that.

"You want to help? Find something real." Derek looked over at me and I got up.

"That's it? You're just going to leave?" Stiles asked baffled. I ignored him but Scott turned towards me, putting himself between Derek and I.

"Maybe you could grab their arms and try the latch thing you do." Scott asked hopeful but Derek interrupted.

"I'm telling you it's nothing. She shouldn't waste her strength on a stupid hunch." I kept my eyes on Allison, clearly making her slightly uncomfortable.

"How are you doing?" I asked. I knew there were all confused by my random question, especially Allison considering how we left things but I was genuinely curious. I know how it felt to have your mother ripped away from you so violently and suddenly.

"I'm alright. I'm as good as I can be I guess." Allison answered rubbing her bruised arm absently and trying not to look at Derek over my shoulder.

"Seriously? I thought we were trying to find missing people and you guys want to start with pleasantries?" Stiles ruined the casual encounter with his angst but Lydia rolled her eyes hard enough to actually make a noise.

"How about toning down the hostility a bit considering we've got one grumpy Hale already. Enjoy that we don't have two." Lydia looked at Stiles who threw his arms out.

"How are you doing?" Allison asked but I didn't know what to say. Stiles snort of laughter made me sigh.

"She's doing great wrapped up in her lies and secrets while the rest of us are left twisting in the wind." Stiles smiled resting his elbows on his knees.

"Can you do the world a public service and shut the hell up please?" Derek finally got tired of Stiles and moved away from the door. Stiles looked to Scott for backup but Scott shrugged.

"He said please." I ignored the three of them and stood in front of Lydia and Allison.

"Can I see the bruises?" I asked making them both extend their arms.

"Maggie." Derek said my name as if it would stop me but I ignored him. I hovered my hands above the bruises, trying to line up my fingers with the darkened skin. I took one long deep breath before latching onto their arms and keeping my eyes closed. I could see Braeden dragging Isaac along a marbled floor, it was fancy. The door she pulled him out of was glass but had some sort of brown papering over it. making it seem like whatever building they were in was clearly no longer being used. She had pulled him across wet pavement and somehow managed to jolt him back to life. I saw her wreck on the bike and be wheeled into the hospital. I saw her knock one of the guards out and steal clothes from the locker room before heading to the school. I felt her anxiety when she asked for Scott and the moment she grabbed Lydia and Allison, I pulled out of the latch.

"What is it? What did you see?" I had fallen against Scott's chest and pushed away instantly shaking my head to collect myself.

"We need to call Deaton. He can help us figure out where they are." I looked over at Derek.

"Deaton? What does he have to do with any of…" Scott started to ask but his face fell once he connected the dots.

"Deaton's known this whole time hasn't he? He's known where you've been and what you've been up against." Scott swallowed a lump in his throat before looking down at his feet.

"Scott, maybe when all of this is over I can explain it to you but right now…right now we've got to find Erica and Boyd before it's too late." I didn't know what to say to him.

"Wait, what did you see?" Allison followed me towards the door but Derek put his hand on my back.

"We can handle it from here." He started to tug on my shirt knowing not to touch my skin after a latch.

"Relax, she's on our side now. She's just trying to help. We're all just trying to help." Scott glanced over at me with a saddened expression of disappointment.

"Don't act like we're the only ones keeping secrets Scott. How about you tell her what her mother was really doing that night?" Derek whispered out of earshot from the rest of them. I put a hand on his chest and forced him towards the door. I didn't look back. I was too focused on what needed to be done.

"We need to get Isaac to the clinic and have him go into the ice bath. I could almost make out where they were but if we get into Isaac's subconscious, we can definitely get enough of the surroundings to pinpoint their location." I said as we walked down the hallway.

"I'll get Isaac. You're staying here." I stopped dead looking at Derek.

"What? Why the hell would I stay here?" I questioned squinting at him.

"We had an agreement. Nathan is your legal guardian and we all agreed you would be back in school. You've already missed the first day and when he gets back I want you to have already gotten back into the grove of things." I laughed at Derek.

"You honestly think I'm going to sit through English class when we literally have hours before Erica and Boyd get killed? No Derek. Get serious-" He held firm staring at me.

"I'm pulling rank on this. Isaac is still healing from earlier. We can meet after school at the clinic. Until then you'll be here signing in and getting your class schedule." I shook my head at Derek wanting to fight him but he squeezed my shoulder giving me a nod that I'm sure was meant to be reassuring but only served to piss me off even more.

"Have a good first day." Derek smirked before walking out of the doors. I gripped the handle tightly wanting to run after him. School was the last place I wanted to be and Derek knew that. I looked back at the classroom I knew the boys were in and decided that if I was going to have to play along with Derek, I would continue to keep the boys at arm's length.

**[Stiles POV]**

I walked with Scott out of the classroom feeling even more uncomfortable than I did before. Maggie was completely freezing me out, not even bothering to look at me but could somehow find it in herself to ask Allison how she was? It didn't make sense to me. What the hell did I do that was so horrible she could block me out?

"I can't believe Deaton has known this whole time. Why wouldn't he tell me?" Scott asked as the first bell rang.

"You can ask him later. The better question is what would an alpha pack want with Erica and Boyd?" I tried to shake Maggie from my thoughts and focus on the problem at hand. Maybe if we figure all of this out, I'll get the answers I really want.

"I'm not sure it's them they want." Scott offered.

"So what they want Derek? They want to recruit alphas?" I shook my head at the ridiculous notion but noticed Scott had stopped and turned completely around, no longer listening to me.

"Scott? Hey…you coming?" I shook Scott out of whatever trance he was in so we could continue on to Business Strategies with Coach which I regretted signing up for instead of basically any other elective on the list.

"The stock market is based on two principles, what are they?" Coach slammed the book down on his desk, kicking off the class. I saw Scott's hand go up but didn't pay much attention to it.

"Yes McCall you can go to the bathroom." Coach waved him off as I tapped my pencil on my notebook. The moment we started getting pieces of Maggie's story, I started writing down every detail, everything she mentioned right down to the people who knew she hadn't left or had some sort of contact with. Coach's laugh pulled me out of my writing.

"Oh you're serious?" He was still talking to Scott.

"Yeah it's risk and reward." Coach's face lit up with excitement. Scott had really busted his ass to get ahead of his studies. I was proud of him and I knew he was proud of himself. It was a simple win for him to be able to exercise his new academic muscle in class though.

"Wow! Who are you and what have you done to McCall? Don't answer that! I like you better! I like you better!" Coach slapped Scott on the shoulder making him smile a goofy proud smile at him.

"Does anybody have a quarter?" Coach asked taking a step back.

"Yeah Coach." I dug into my pocket and grabbed the quarter I had but when I pulled my hand out, the condom I had from the night before was still in my pocket and decided to come tumbling out onto the floor. I felt my entire body go into shocked lava mode. My skin felt like it went instantly 10 shades of crimson and my heart was beating loud enough to probably echo in Scott's head as the foil wrapped package sat on the floor. Chuckles and murmurs filled the room when Coach moved to pick it up and hand it to me.

"Stilinski…I think you dropped this." Coach held out the condom to me and I tried to form some sort of rebuttal but all I managed to do was make a noise.

"Congratulations." He muttered under his breath before walking away from me.

"I'm going to kill Maggie for not telling me." Danny had turned around in his chair and was looking at me.

"Wh-no it's not. This is…you think...me and Mag-" Coach cut me off before I could actually spit out a proper response.

"What the hell was that?" Scott mouthed at me with the Coach's back turned.

"I DON'T KNOW!" I mouthed back covering my face and slinking down in my chair.

"Risk and reward, put the quarter in the mug, win the reward. Now watch Coach." Coach put the mug on the floor and took a few steps back and kneeling to the floor. He blew on the quarter before bouncing it perfectly and landing it in the cup. We all clapped for him at the pinpoint accuracy of the bounce.

"That's how you do it. Danny, risk/reward?" Coach held the quarter out to Danny.

"What's the reward?" Danny questioned.

"If you make it then you don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow." Coach shrugged making me shake my head. Note to self: there's a pop quiz tomorrow.

"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it." Danny lowered his voice as if that would help somehow keep the secret.

"You know Danny, I expect more from you at this point." He snatched the quarter out of Danny's hand and moved back towards us.

"McCall, risk/reward. The risk, if you don't put that quarter in that mug, you have to take the pop…the quiz and you have to write an essay. Risk, reward, or no work at all. Or choose not to play." Scott flipped the quarter around in his fingers.

"But isn't this just a game of chance?" He questioned. He made a valid point.

"No you know your abilities, your coordination, your focus and past experience. All those are factors affecting the outcome. So what's it going to be McCall. More work? No work or choose not to play." Coach's words were oddly enough washing around in Scott's head for far too long and I could tell he wasn't thinking about tossing a pop quiz anymore. Despite Maggie going missing and dealing with the aftermath of all that, summer had been relatively quiet. An alpha pack and sudden bombshells were weighing twice as heavy now that we'd been out of the game for a few months. I could tell Scott was torn. I was torn too but we couldn't just throw away all the progress we'd made just because it was sitting on our shoulders now.

Scott put the quarter down with a frown and Coach stood up straight.

"No play, alright. Who's next? Who wants to play?" I drummed my hands on my book and got out of my seat.

"Alright! There's a gambling man! Come on! Step up! Go Stilinski!" I walked up and prayed I had a lucky bone in my body so I could avoid any extra work.

"Stiles." I heard my name as I tried to line up the shot.

"Yeah Coach I got this." I said unknowingly.

"Stiles." I heard my name again and looked up to see my dad standing at the door. He had his deputy with him and I knew he was here on business.

"I'm going to need to borrow him." He looked over at the Coach and I walked towards the door. Dad put his hand on my back and escorted me out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me.

"When was the last time you saw Heather?" Dad asked walking us down the hallway a bit.

"Last night at her birthday party." I said looking over at his deputy and then back him. I wasn't sure what was going on but he was on edge.

"What time would you say you last saw her at the party?" Dad was trying to get specifics.

"I don't know, maybe 10:30ish. We were hanging out and I went upstairs to use the bathroom. When I came back I couldn't find her. I just figured she'd hooked up with her other friends. Has no one really seen her since last night?" I asked getting instantly anxious.

"We put out an APB but all her friends say you were the last person who saw her. They said there was an argument with you and someone else and they didn't see her after that." Dad explained.

"I wasn't arguing with Heather, I was arguing with Maggie." Dad's eyebrows went up.

"Maggie? Maggie was at the party?" Dad questioned confused. I hadn't bothered to talk to him about her being back so I know this was a huge surprise for him.

"Dad can we please focus here?" I tried to get him to remember why he was here. If Heather was actually missing then we needed to find her as soon as possible.

"Well if you were talking with Maggie at this party than she's your alibi. I think talking to her is necessary." Dad pointed out.

"She wasn't there that long. We argued, she walked outside to talk to Scott and when I looked for Heather she was gone." I explained further.

"Did anyone see you after that?" Dad pressed.

"I heard Maggie and Scott talking and just went outside. Trust me, I want to find Heather just as much as anyone. You know how important she is to me." I reminded my dad seeing him give me a sympathetic frown before patting me on the shoulder.

"I'm going to keep you in the loop but I want you to be careful. Call me if you can remember anything else or if you hear from her." Dad squeezed my shoulder and I gave him a nod. I waited for my dad to walk away before letting out a sigh and checking my phone. I tried Heather's number while I was in the hallway and she didn't answer. I didn't think she would but it was worth a shot. I looked up and saw someone sitting in front of the office. I knew she probably heard the conversation with my dad so there was no point in ignoring her.

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" I asked surprised to see that she actually stuck around.

"I go to school here." She mumbled not bothering to look up at me.

"I just figured you were going to take off with Derek." I rubbed the back of my neck feeling the vibe that she'd rather be on fire than sit here and talk to me. When she didn't respond I knew she wanted me to walk away.

"You didn't have to do that for me. I wouldn't have told him anything anyway." I knew she was referring to the conversation I had with my dad. I shoved my hands in my pockets and shrugged.

"Yeah well I figured if I got you out of that, you'd sort of owe me a favor." I offered seeing her go back to her stone face.

"I know you're doing the whole freeze out thing and that's fine but I need-" I stopped talking when two girls passed by us in the hallway. I waited long enough for them to be out of earshot before clearing my throat.

"Heather is apparently missing. After our fight, I couldn't find her." I explained. Maggie cut her eyes at me looking completely bored with what I was saying.

"I don't see how any of that is my concern." She said unemotional.

"I know you don't care okay? I just...She's a good person. I know if there's anyone who can find her, it's you." I rubbed my nose trying to keep myself from getting worked up over her attitude. I honestly don't know where this hostility was coming from.

"You want me to find your girlfriend?" The question left her mouth with such bitter discontent, it landed heavily on my chest.

"I want you to find my friend. I don't have a girlfriend. Apparently I've never even been close. Not that it matters." She closed her eyes briefly, biting her lip and looking up at me. I stared down at her desperate to see the girl that kissed me in her room all those months ago but the door to the office opened.

"Ms. Stevens, you're up." The Principal called Maggie into the office and she stood up, walking around me to go into the office without even a second glance. I walked back to class and plopped down in my seat. Scott looked over at me and I knew by the expression on his face that he'd listened to the conversation Maggie and I had. We waited until after class to even broach the subject.

"So you think they took Heather to turn her?" Scott asked confused by one of my many theories.

"Derek said it's easier to turn teenagers." I remembered from what seemed like forever ago when we first got into this mess of him biting every teenager that could have an after school special.

"Yeah but what would a pack of alphas need with a beta?" Scott made sense but I was in the midst of a freak out.

"Scott, I don't know okay? Regular logic has left me currently. I just need to find her. You know how much she helped me through this summer. She's the only other girl that I've known as long as Maggie and if she isn't going to help me find her than we need to figure out how to find her and fast." Scott could probably tell that I was on edge without the speech but I felt like I needed to get it all out. I had all this repressed anxiety from early that just came flooding out of my mouth.

"If we want to get to the alphas then we need Isaac to remember." Scott offered trying to help calm me down.

"How? I mean if Derek and Maggie couldn't do it then how are we supposed to do it? I'm all for beating it out of him but something tells me Maggie would object to that." Scott stopped in his tracks.

"There is one person who could help and I'm sure Maggie and Derek are already a step ahead of us." Scott looked at me and I knew immediately who he was talking about.

_Deaton_.


	3. Make It To Me

**Authors Note: I'm so insanely sorry this took so long to get posted. I had a very sudden death in my family that's kind of shaken my entire life. Thank you for sticking with me and being patient. I truly appreciate it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter updated pretty quickly since I made you guys wait so long for this one. I hope you enjoy it!  
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**[Derek's POV]**

I wasn't surprised to see Scott and Stiles at the clinic when Isaac and I arrived. Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose thinking the exact same thing I was thinking apparently.

"Maggie is not going to be happy about this." He sighed taking his seat belt off and opening his door. We grabbed the ice Deaton had requested we bring before walking into the clinic to see a very disgruntled Scott with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm going to assume you've caught him up on the summer with Maggie." I placed the ice down on the table but kept my eyes on Deaton.

"You should have told me. Deaton says this is really dangerous." Scott stepped towards me and I tossed some of the ice at him to catch.

"We weighed the risks and you know as well as I do that once Maggie gets her head set on something, there's no stopping her." I explained watching Scott's eyes go wide.

"I was talking about letting Isaac do this. Maggie's done this!?" I glanced over at Deaton who shook his head, not even bothering to look at me so I'd know how much of an idiot I was but before I could say anything else like clockwork, the backdoor to the clinic opened and Maggie walked in.

"If you're going to talk about me, at least do it out of earshot." She tossed her bag on the floor and glared at me.

"What are they doing here?" She gritted out turning her back to them as if they couldn't hear her.

"Scott came to me and I think he should stay. He can help, they both can." I held my hands up as Deaton explained that he was the one to bring Scott and Stiles to the clinic.

"You didn't need help when I went under, why would we need extra hands now?" She questioned him.

"How many times have you done this?" Stiles finally spoke and the room seemed to stop as he addressed Maggie.

"Too many, far too many." Deaton answered when she didn't.

"Help me get the ice in here." I walked over to Stiles and gave his shoulder a pat feeling for him sadly enough. Maggie had completely shut him down on all fronts. I knew why she'd done it but that didn't mean I agreed with her methods. Stiles seemed surprised by the gestured but helped Scott and I fill the tub with ice.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly comfortable." Deaton informed Isaac.

"You said it felt like being in a bathtub of flaming needles." Isaac looked over at Maggie who shrugged.

"Actually you get pretty numb to it quickly. You'll just have to withstand the first few minutes of it." Maggie tried to put Isaac at ease but we both knew how hard coming out of these was for her.

"If we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trans-like state." Deaton explained further as Isaac chewed on his thumbnail.

"So basically it's like being hypnotized?" Isaac walked towards us as we finished with all the ice.

"Exactly! You'll be half transformed and it'll let us access your subconscious mind." Deaton had Maggie on his right as Isaac skimmed his hand over the ice in the metal basin. He retracted his hand quickly feeling the burn of cold.

"How slow does his heart rate have to be?" Scott asked making Deaton look over at me for some reason.

"Very slow." He still kept his gaze on me.

"How slow is very slow?" I pressed.

"Nearly dead." Maggie sighed growing impatient.

"You've been doing this for months and didn't think I should know that she's been walking the death line? I knew there were risks but-" Maggie cut me off.

"It was the only way we could track them. We could stand here and talk about it or we can get to it." Maggie spat. The snap of a glove from behind me drew all of our attention to Stiles as he played with the gloves on the medical table.

"What?" Stiles questioned as if he needed us to comment on his stupidity.

"Yes I can see now how including them is so helpful." Maggie rolled her eyes making Stiles tear the glove off and mumble a preschool insult under his breath.

"Look if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this." I turned my attention back to Isaac who's heartbeat had picked up considerably since we'd gotten here. He stared down at the icy water and chewed on his lip.

"This week has gotten progressively sucky." Isaac rubbed at the back of his neck where the marks of Peter's attempt to retrieve information had healed.

"Derek's right, If you don't want to do this, you don't have to." Scott reached out to Isaac but retracted his hand as if he thought that would somehow be awkward or disrespectful.

"Well you've managed to skirt death a few times so I guess let's just hold out for that." Stiles clapped his hands together trying to lighten the mood but the moment Maggie gripped Isaac's arm, his face fell.

"Hey, wherever you go when you're in there, you've got to remember that they can't hurt you. It looks real and it's scary as hell but you're safe." She handled Isaac carefully but he clicked his tongue to his teeth, shaking his head.

"Come on, I've seen you after you've been in one of these Maggie. You always come out of it wrecked." Stiles and Scott exchanged curious looks and I didn't blame them. Maggie had explained the procedure like being knocked unconscious, not being in a coma. I felt a bit betrayed that Deaton wouldn't tell me just how close to losing Maggie it would be but I couldn't dwell on that now.

"Yeah but I always had you and Derek to straighten me out. I'm not leaving you. I promised you I wouldn't let us get separated again and I meant it." She gave his hand a squeeze and he nodded at her.

"Alright." The skin to skin contact had calmed Isaac. I knew what Maggie was doing and I knew it probably wasn't right but if Isaac didn't go under, I knew Maggie would.

"Are you sure?" I asked just to double check and Isaac pulled his shirt over his head.

"Let's do this." He let out some quick breaths trying not to psych himself out but Stiles groan made him look up.

"You really have to take your shirt off for this?" Stiles complained but we ignored him. Isaac kicked his shoes and socks off and Maggie put her hand over his heart.

"Just remember that no matter what you see, you are safe. Just take some deep breaths okay? I'm right here." Isaac nodded at her as he stepped into the ice bath with no hesitation and sat down trying to breathe through the pain.

"On three." Maggie said looking at both Scott and I as we gripped Isaac's shoulders.

"One...two...three!" Maggie counted us down and Isaac took one last breath out as we shoved him beneath the water. It wasn't long before he started to thrash against us to try and catch his breath. He broke free of our hold and emerged with his fangs out and eyes glowing golden.

"Put him back under." Deaton said above Isaac's growl. I looked over at Maggie as she stood concerned. Stiles offered us a hand by holding down his legs.

"Hold him!" Deaton looked relax but annoyed at our inability to hold him down. I wasn't trying to hurt him though.

"We're trying!" I shouted at Deaton as he offered no help. He gave Maggie a look and she stepped to the foot of the tub putting her hand out above him and closing her eyes. Suddenly Isaac was wrenched out of our grip and held to the bottom of the tub.

"It's okay Isaac. It's okay." She gritted out as she held Isaac under with some sort of invisible force. Isaac stopped thrashing and we slowly lifted our hands out of the icy water. Deaton finally stepped towards the tub and held his finger up.

"Now remember, only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out." Deaton looked over at me before giving Maggie a nod. She put her hand down and let Isaac rise above the water, eyes closed taking in a breath.

"Isaac, can you hear me?" Deaton's voice was soft as Isaac's lips shivered.

"Y-yes. I can hear you." He responded.

"This is Dr. Deaton, I'd like to ask you a few questions if that's alright." I glanced over at Maggie who had her arms crossed over her chest and her hand resting in front of her mouth clearly unnerved by seeing Isaac in this position.

"Yes." He replied simply.

"I want to ask you a few questions about the night you found Erica and Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again." Lightening flashed outside the windows of the clinic and thunder made Stiles heart jump.

"No no I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that! Please don't make me do that." Scott and I put our hands back in the water to try and keep Isaac in the water and Deaton waved his hand at Maggie who stepped forward.

"Just relax, they're just memories Isaac, memories can't hurt you." Deaton explained.

"No no I don't want to do that." Isaac was pleading.

"Isaac, I'm with you. I'm not going anywhere. Just stay with me." Maggie's voice was tender as she put her hand in the water and grazed his chest.

"Maggie?" Isaac seemed to relax slightly upon hearing her voice.

"Yes it's me. I've got you." She continued to stroke his chest and he calmed.

"Alright Isaac, let's go back to the night you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see?" Deaton resumed talking as Maggie continued her strokes.

"Is there some kind of building or maybe a house?" We all kept our eyes on Isaac as his brows furrowed.

"It's not a house. It's stone...like marble." Maggie's eyes met mine shocked that we'd gotten any information out of Isaac.

"That's perfect. Can you give me any other descriptors?" Deaton pressed on as Isaac's bottom lip turned purple.

"It's dusty and empty." Isaac breathed.

"Like an abandoned building?" Deaton interrupted but before Isaac could answer the lights started to flicker.

"He's in." Maggie said standing.

"Someone's...someone's here." Isaac grabbed a hold of Scott's arm and froze.

"Isaac...Isaac you have to relax." Deaton replaced Maggie's hand on his chest to try and calm him.

"No they'll see me! They'll see us! Maggie! Maggie where are you!?" Maggie knew I was staring at her but she didn't look up. I knew she felt ashamed for leaving Isaac behind that night. We came damn close to losing him.

"They're just memories Isaac, they can't hurt you. Just relax...relax Isaac." Deaton repeated making Isaac loosen his grip on Scott.

"Now tell us what you see...tell us everything." Isaac's eyes flickered beneath his eyelids quickly like he was trying to keep up with the images in his head.

"It's Boyd...he's talking about being out of control on the full moon. He's scared." Isaac's eyes finally opened to stare up at us but they were empty. They may have been open but he wasn't seeing us.

"Is he talking to Erica?" Deaton questioned.

"I think so. I don't know. I can't see them. I can't see either of them." Isaac's teeth chattered.

"Do you hear anything else?" Deaton pressed.

"They're worried, worried about what they'll do during the full moon. They're worried that they're going to hurt each other." I let out a sigh and looked over at Scott.

"If they're locked in there together on the full moon, they'll tear each other apart." Maggie started to pace.

"Isaac, we need to find them right now. Can you see them? Do you know what kind of room they're in? Is there any kind of marker or sign, number on a door?" Deaton knew time was running out and used a more stern tone when speaking but Isaac's body shot up in the water making Stiles jump back.

"They're here...they're here! They're here! Maggie! Maggie don't! Don't go!" Isaac's voice strained and Maggie started to get upset.

"It's alright-" Isaac cut Deaton off with his panic.

"THEY'VE FOUND ME! MAGGIE! MAGGIE!" I couldn't take the waiting anymore.

"This isn't working! Isaac, where are you!?" I yelled disregarding Deaton's warning.

"IT'S TOO DARK! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! MAGGIE WHERE ARE YOU!? Isaac kept screaming until his voice was hoarse.

"Derek you're going to confuse him!" Deaton tried to pull on my shoulder but I shrugged him off.

"WHERE ARE YOU!? TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE?!" I shouted over him as he started to thrash.

"His heart rate will go too high and he'll go into shock!" Deaton explained.

"Derek let him go!" Scott finally stepped back up to the tub but I didn't care.

"ISAAC TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE!" I demanded.

"IT'S A VAULT! IT'S A BANK VAULT!" I stepped back after getting the answer we needed.

"SHE'S GOT ME! KALI'S GOT ME! MAGGIE RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Maggie pushed past Deaton to put her hand on Isaac to snap him out of it.

"Isaac! I'm right here. Calm down! You've got to-" Isaac started to whimper.

"Oh God there's a body…there's a body in this room...they killed her...they killed Erica!" I felt my heart stutter as Maggie froze on the floor next to the tub.

"What? No...that can't...that can't be true." She got up and started to back away from Isaac when he finally shot up again only this time he was conscious.

"I know the name! I remembered the name." Isaac pushed himself up and Scott and I helped him out of what was left of the ice bath into dry towels.

"It was um…Beacon Hills First National Bank…it's an abandoned bank and they're keeping them locked in the vault." Isaac looked at all of us, clearly unaware of what he'd said before snapping out of it.

"Maggie?" Isaac saw Maggie had backed away from him trying to wrap her head around what she heard.

"You don't remember what you said before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked making Isaac shake his head.

"You said there was a body in the room with you when they captured you." Stiles said but Isaac shook his head confused.

"What body?" He asked.

"Erica's…you said they killed Erica." Maggie started to wring her hands out like she did whenever the pains started to get too much to handle.

"She's not dead." I said trying to reel Maggie in a bit. She walked over and held up the bag of dry clothes to Isaac who took them into the bathroom and changed before exiting and sitting down on the metal table near the wall. I think even he was surprised by what he said.

"Derek, we all heard what he said. It doesn't really leave a whole lot of room for interpretation." Stiles dismissed.

"Then who else would be in the vault with Boyd?" I questioned.

"Someone else obviously." Stiles waved his hand around as he sat down next to Isaac, who kept glancing over at Maggie.

"Maybe it was the girl that saved you? The girl on the motorcycle?" Scott pitched.

"No she wasn't like us. Whoever was in the vault with Boyd was." Isaac said as Stiles looked back to me.

"What if that's how Erica died? Maybe they pit them against each other on the full moons to see who survives? It's like Werewolf Thunderdome!" Stiles shook his head.

"I should have felt it." Maggie finally spoke making us all look at her. She was rubbing the necklace that her mother had given her that stayed hung around her neck and staring at the ground.

"If they killed her, I would have felt it right? I made the charms myself. Erica was wearing it that night." Maggie wasn't talking to anyone in particular. She was just letting her thoughts out of her mouth without thinking.

"What night? What are you talking about?" Scott started walking towards her and just like that she seemed to snap out of her thoughts.

"I've got to go. I've got to get to her." Maggie grabbed her jacket from the floor and Stiles jumped up when she picked her bag up that he was sitting on.

"Just wait a second. We need a plan." I said but she didn't stop.

"Maggie, you need to be smart about this. You can't go storming in there. You've tried already and failed. The last time you were almost killed." Deaton reminded her but she shook her head.

"I don't care. I just…I don't care." Maggie turned to leave but I grabbed her arm.

"Hey! I care! I care a lot actually." She spun around and shoved me backwards catching me off guard as I slipped on some of the ice on the floor. I felt Stiles hand catch my back in surprise.

"Oh you care now? You didn't care that Isaac could have gone into shock a few minutes ago." Maggie shook her hands out.

"Maggie, it's okay." Isaac tried to help but she shook her head.

"NO IT'S NOT! IT'S NOT OKAY! NOTHING IS OKAY!" She shouted making some of the glass on the table shatter. Her emotions were getting the better of her and that always made her magic do strange things. Scott and Stiles hadn't seen that yet judging by the way their heartbeats sped up.

"I'm tired of this! I'm tired of the waiting and not knowing! You know what they'll do to them. You know it's…you know it's my fault. I shouldn't have left that night. I should have fought harder! I shouldn't have let them get hurt! I should have s-stayed." Maggie's face had scrunched in pain and I moved towards her.

"Maggie…" She shook her head frantically now fighting the pain that was taking over in her. I'd seen this face a few times during the summer, smelt the pain come off of her in waves and it was never pleasant.

"Don't! Don't touch me!" She put her hands out.

"What's happening? Are you alright?" Scott moved around the tub next to me and Maggie started to whine.

"I can't…I can't-" Maggie's knees buckled and she fell into me, startling Scott and Stiles.

"Did you take your injection today?" I asked but she started to groan as the pain took over. Deaton rushed to his office and Stiles fell to his knees next to us.

"What's happening to her?" He asked hands hovering too afraid to touch her while she thrashed in agony.

"Don't touch her! Don't touch her! It'll make it worse." I warned as she started to seize against me, hands flexing into fists and shaking. The soles of her shoes squeaked as she pushed down on the wet floor trying to ease the pain in anyway that she could. Deaton ran out with a syringe in his hands gesturing me to grab her arm so he could inject her. She fought to keep her arm still but I held her tightly so he could hit a vein. Her body started to relax and she passed out cold in my arms.

**[Scott's POV]**

I wasn't the only one completely baffled by what had just happened after Isaac had finally given us the location of Erica and Boyd. Maggie's whole body shut down for some reason and everyone seemed to know why except Stiles and I. Derek had loaded her and Isaac into his car before taking off but Stiles and I followed him. When he pulled up to a tall warehouse looking building, we jumped out just to received a heavy sigh.

"She's going to be pissed that you followed me. I can assure you that she's fine." Derek said opening the passenger door.

"Yeah well forgive us for having our doubts considering you've been letting her repeatedly venture into limbo for the last few months." Stiles spoke up.

"You aren't going to like put them out of their misery are you? I mean where the hell are we?" I asked looking around. The area was pretty scarce and creepy but I guess it had it's qualities.

"This is where we live. I'll answer your questions another time. I have to get them both inside-" Isaac started to fall out of the back door and I quickly grabbed his arm. Derek slung his arm over his shoulder and I did the same.

"Stiles can you..." I turned around to see Stiles had already scooped up Maggie in his arms and was carrying her bridal style behind us. We got into a metal elevator and rode in silence to the top of the building before the doors opened and we walked up a few steps to a heavy sliding door. The place was dark with minimal furniture but that didn't surprise me. Derek led me to the right where there was a single bed behind the brick wall. I tried to slowly put Isaac down before looking around but Stiles stood holding Maggie, unsure of where to put her. He went towards the couch but Derek stopped him.

"She has a room." Derek took her from Stiles and walked up a spiral staircase. Stiles and I looked around while he put Maggie in her bed.

"Yeah this doesn't look like a crack den from Gotham City at all." Stiles touched a piece of the brick wall that had been broken through. There was quite a few smells covering the loft but it was heavy of Maggie, Derek and Isaac. They'd set up shop here pretty early on it seemed and had been living together pretty steadily. It was dark with a few spurts of light and colorful things which seemed scattered like maybe they might have been placed to make the place more homely.

"Where does Nathan fit into all of this?" I asked confused.

"I don't know but you do realize this isn't completely out of reach of us right? She literally was hiding in plain sight for months." Stiles pointed out.

"Trust me, it wasn't easy." Derek started down the steps.

"So she's a werewitch ninja that has Bruce Banner black outs?" Stiles asked referring to what had happened earlier.

"It's been a long night, maybe-" I stepped forward cutting Derek off.

"No Derek. You aren't blowing us off again. A lot has happened and we deserve some answers, starting with what the hell happened to Maggie back there?" I demanded sitting down on his couch. Stiles watched me and decided to sit down on the arm of the couch waiting for Derek to start talking. He paced for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's the Gerard thing, isn't it?" Stiles spoke before Derek who gave him a nod.

"It's the long term effects of the poison he used on her. Because it healed into her bones, she gets this crippling pain if she doesn't take the medication Deaton gave her. It's like fibromyalgia that runs deep into the bones instead of just the muscles and soft tissue." Derek explained but I had no idea what fibromyalgia actually was.

"It's like arthritis amplified to the 100th degree." Stiles must have seen my confusion and explained it further.

"Does she have the same symptoms of fibromyalgia? Does she sleep?" Stiles crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not well. She has nightmares sometimes but she takes something for that too." I remembered the episode she had that night when Isaac and I stayed with her. It was terrifying.

"How did she get this bad? I mean is all of this because of Gerard-" I started to ask but Derek shook his head.

"A lot has happened since she took off. This pack isn't like any other. They're ruthless and will show no mercy if they get their hands on you. Maggie found that out the hard way." Derek looked down at his hands clasped together.

"Do you think Erica is really dead?" I asked making him look up at me.

"I won't believe it until I see it for myself which is why I need your help." Stiles snorted.

"Now you want our help? After everything, we are suddenly of use for you?" Stiles got up abruptly.

"I'm not the one who pushed you both out. That was Maggie's decision." Derek defended.

"We don't have time for this. We need to get to Erica and Boyd before it's too late." I stood up and looked between them. Stiles took a deep breath and rubbed his temples.

"I can do some research on the bank. It shouldn't take me too long to find a way in." Stiles shrugged.

"How long?" Derek pushes making Stiles roll his eyes.

"It's the internet Derek, it shouldn't take too long. We'll call you when we find it." Stiles walked towards the door.

"I'll meet you down there in a second." I gestured for Stiles to go ahead and go. He didn't hesitate. I turned back to Derek and he looked worried.

"You know if you want our help the secrets have to stop. All of this hiding and lying, it's done. If this pack is as dangerous as you say then I need the truth. I'm not risking anyone else getting hurt." I said firmly earning a nod from Derek.

"Okay." Derek stood with his hands in his pockets as I walked towards the door.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you should keep letting her push you away." Derek said as I reached the door. I turned around and looked at him sincerely.

"Maggie couldn't shake me even if she really wanted to. Thanks for taking care of her." I pulled the heavy door shut behind myself and hopped into the jeep as Stiles was typing away on his phone. He had found some information about the bank being shut down after it was broken into a few years back. He went to work the moment we got to his house and I tried to help as much as I could, reading over print outs of the bank robbery but most of it was news related.

"I guess we might have overestimated how effective the internet search would be." I said rubbing my tired eyes.

"I'll never admit that to Derek so you just keep that thought to yourself." Stiles continued reading.

"Are you okay?" I asked out of the blue making him look up at me from the bed.

"Well I'm tired and my head hurts but other than that..." Stiles knew what I was asking. He let out a heavy sigh and tossed the paper he'd read at least 4 times.

"It's just been a crazy day. First Heather goes missing and now we find out that Maggie's apparently suffering from debilitating pain because of what happened with Gerard. It doesn't help that she's still acting like I don't exist." Stiles shook his head exhausted.

"We'll find Heather and you know what happened to Maggie wasn't your fault." Stiles looked away from me this time. I knew he carried guilt from that night with him but there was nothing he could have done to stop Gerard.

"Am I a fool to be worried about someone who can't even acknowledge me when Heather helped me through the summer? I feel like such a jerk." Stiles admitted slipping off the bed onto the floor to pick up more papers to read.

"You aren't a jerk. I can tell how worried you are about both of them. It's okay to feel conflicted. If life were easy, we'd take everything for granted." I explained earning a chuckle.

"Your whole zen thing is kinda of creepy sometimes." Stiles smiles through his cluster of anxiety. We worked for as long as we could before the Sheriff was shouting at us to get up. I nearly fell out of the computer chair hearing his voice.

"I've got to get out of here. You boys need to get to school." He said holding his coffee in one hand, already dressed and read to go. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and could feel how much I'd over worked them by reading so much last night.

"Dad…any word on Heather?" Stiles called out desperately.

"No nothing yet." The Sheriff frowned before walking away. Stiles jumped up from the floor tossing a paper off of his drool covered hand aggravated.

"10 hours and still nothing!" He rubbed his face.

"We're going to find something." I reassured him as he moved around his bed to take his meds.

"Finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead or Boyd any less about to be dead." Stiles snatched up papers off his bed.

"We still have time." I reminded him making him stop his rampage on the papers that had continued to print overnight.

"Is this whole like remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster apart of the 'be a better Scott McCall program? I mean the Zen thing helped last night but right now I kind of want to punch you." Stiles threatened. I shrugged disappointed that I couldn't help Stiles feel any less anxious about what was going on.

"I guess not if it doesn't work." I said apologetically. Stiles face seemed to soften.

"No it does." He gave me a nod like he was sorry for snapping but the moment he looked at the paper in his hands he started freaking out.

"Oh…DAD! HEY DAD!" He tossed the paper at me before running to catch up with his dad and I looked it over. Apparently the Sheriff was the arresting officer of the bank job. My phone started going off and I saw Derek's name pop up on the screen.

"Hey did you find anything yet?" Derek asked clearly tense.

"Yeah we just found a lead. How is Maggie?" I asked concerned.

"She's still sleeping it off." Derek sounded like he was a bit more relieved.

"Well we've got to go to school but we'll come by with the plans right after. Is that okay" I asked just as Stiles came running back in.

"Yeah that's fine. We'll talk it over and leave at dark just to be safe." Derek said.

"Alright we'll see you then." I hung up the phone and looked up at Stiles.

"Was that Derek? How is Maggie?" Stiles asked without any hesitation.

"She's still resting but we'll meet at his place after school. I hope you found a plan." I said hopeful and Stiles held up a bunch of rolled up papers.

"I have blueprints to the bank and a police report." Stiles informed me.

"Which your dad gave you because you lied and told him it was for research?" I said knowing that even that was too good to be true.

"Scott, we talked about this. Just don't ask." Stiles looked at his watched and yanked his flannel off. We had about 10 minutes to change and get to school before we were late. Hopefully tonight would go better than before.

**[Maggie's POV]**

I woke up slowly, feeling how heavy my limbs felt resting on the bed. I blinked the sleep from my eyes to see Derek was sitting in the chair next to my bed asleep. I tried to remember how I'd even gotten back to the loft but nothing came to mind. All I could remember was the pain I felt. I let out an audible sigh rousing Derek from his light sleep.

"Did you find them? Did you go without me?" I asked the moment his eyes hit me.

"No, Scott and Stiles found a way into the vault. We're meeting tonight to go over the plan." I rolled my eyes falling back onto the bed.

"How do you feel?" Derek asked leaning forward.

"Currently? Annoyed." I finally managed to sit up but I felt nauseous.

"If we want to get Erica and Boyd back then you'll have to deal with it. Stop trying to overdo it and rest." Derek put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back onto my pillows. I remembered putting Isaac in the ice bath and him saying that Erica was dead but I was almost afraid to even mention it to Derek.

"Look, I know you're worried but we'll find them. All of this searching is done tonight okay? I promise we'll get them back tonight." I looked up at Derek and he stared down at me.

"Okay." I answered simply. He sat back in the chair and put his hand on my arm, absorbing some of the ache that lingered in my muscles.

"It's been awhile since you've had an episode like last night." Derek pointed out. The last time I had one was the night I broke down over hearing Stiles voice through the walkie talkies but the truth was I didn't forget about taking them. I didn't take them on purpose. There's a part of me that felt like it was the punishment I deserved for hurting him so badly. If Derek knew why I hadn't taken them that night, it was unbeknown to me but I could tell he knew why I'd forgotten them last night.

"There's been a lot going on. I'll remember them from now on especially if it means outsourcing for help in my unconscious state." I listened for Isaac's heartbeat through the loft and it seemed steady.

"You know once we get Erica and Boyd back, things will probably change. You'll be able to live a bit more normal." Derek had clearly forgotten the huge threat that lingered over our heads.

"Getting Erica and Boyd back doesn't change the fact that the alpha pack is out for blood. It doesn't change what I did." I reminded him.

"It was kill or be killed Maggie. You had to-" I cut Derek off.

"I killed one of their own, Derek. They won't forget that and you know it. You think once we get them back that I'll just be able to bring Scott and Stiles back into the fold and help me deal with all of this." Derek's eyes met mine like he had no idea that I knew was he was up to but I'm not stupid.

"I know what you've been trying to do. Including them and trying to pull them in so they can somehow show me who I used to be but you need to let go of that. You need to let go of the idea that I'm still the same person I was when we started all this because I'm not." Derek's eyes grew sad as I put my hand over his so he was no longer taking my pain away.

"You can't do this alone." Derek's eyes pleaded with me and it pained me that I was causing him distress but I didn't know how to fix me anymore than he did. We both heard Isaac hiss in pain from downstairs and I took that as my chance to end this conversation.

"You need to give Isaac the tea in the fridge. It'll help with the spasms he's going to get." I rolled towards the night stand and saw Derek had placed the pain suppressants for me to take.

"I also want to move him up here. He needs to rest and he can't do that if you're having company over. He can rest in my bed." Derek walked towards the door and glanced back at me.

"I made breakfast...if you want some." I gave Derek a weak smile.

"Thank you." He nodded before walking out of the room and closing the door behind himself. I downed the medicine before picking up my cell phone and staring at the screen for a few moments. Today was going to be rough. I could already feel it. I knew my body would be feel wonky all day because of the seizing up that I did yesterday and dealing with Scott and Stiles here while worrying about Erica and Boyd was going to have me super anxious. I needed a distraction. I needed a third party to help keep the boys at arms reach while I kept my head in this. I dialed the phone and waited patiently for an answer.

"Well good morning sweetheart. It's not everyday I get a phone call from you. What's the occasion?" Peter seemed surprised and a bit too pleased that I was calling so early but I knew he'd already be up.

"We're making a move to get Erica and Boyd back tonight. Derek's got Scott and Stiles roped into helping and I was kind of hoping you could come by. Maybe provide a bit of a-" He cut me off.

"Support?" He questioned.

"Yeah something like that. I mean if you're busy doing something else-" He cut me off yet again.

"I'm never too busy for my only daughter. I'll come by around 5. Does that work?" I knew the tension it had caused with me getting closer to Peter but for some reason, he put me at ease. He made me think that I wasn't so horrible for being so impulsive. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, Derek seemed to think bad but I needed him no matter how much everyone wished I didn't.

"That's perfect. Thanks." I cleared my throat hearing Derek and Isaac moving around downstairs.

"I'll see you then sweetheart." I hung the phone up and pulled my knees to my chest. My life had changed so much in the last 6 months. I hardly recognized myself anymore. I couldn't remember the girl I used to be, all I know is that I felt colder, harder and more distant than I'd ever been. Part of me felt like that was the best thing for me. If I can keep the things I cherish away, it'll keep them safe. Another part of me felt like I had been walking around in darkness for a long time.

**[Stiles POV]**

I felt anxious getting onto the elevator once again. I still hadn't gotten word from dad about Heather and I was nervous about going back to Derek's after school. Maggie hadn't shown up for class but I wasn't really expecting her too. It was apparent that I shouldn't really expect anything when it came to Maggie anymore unless it involved being shunned which she seemed really good at when it came to me. I hated that. I hated that for some reason she was so capable of blowing me off like I'd done something wrong in all of this. I wasn't the one who lied. I didn't lead her to believe that we were something and then disappear. That was all her.

"You okay?" Scott interrupted my angsty thoughts.

"Yeah why?" I glanced over at him as I pulled up to the loft.

"You've got that angry eyebrow gaze thing you do whenever you're doing pissed off dialogue in your head with Maggie." I turned the jeep off.

"What are you talking about?" Scott was either losing it or he was trying to feel me out on all of this.

"It's a look you get whenever you're thinking about Maggie...like going over conversations in your head or trying to rationalize things that's happened with her. You've made it quite a few times this summer. I don't want to press, I just want to make sure you'll be okay to go in here." Scott opened his door and I followed him to the back of the jeep to retrieve the blueprints.

"It's not like she'll even acknowledge me so I'm sure I'll be fine. I just want to figure this out so we can find Heather." I shut the back of the jeep and saw Scott making a strange face.

"What? What's wrong?" I looked around the lot and Scott hurried into the building. He looked like he was tracking a scent that he didn't like all the way up the elevator until we opened the door to see none other than Peter Hale sitting on the couch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked harshly. He merely smirked and closed the book he was reading.

"Hello boys. It's always such a pleasure to see you." He mocked leaning back against the couch.

"Where's Maggie? What did you-" Derek came down the steps shaking his head.

"Maggie's fine. She's upstairs taking care of Isaac right now." Derek put his hands out like he was trying to calm us down but when we gestured to Peter he rolled his eyes.

"Who invited the psycho-wolf to the party?" I asked keeping my eyes on Peter.

"My daughter actually invited me and as much as I enjoy seeing that stupid confused look on your faces, perhaps you should keep in mind that you've been out of the picture for quite some time. A lot of changes have happened this summer." Derek cleared his throat cutting off his smug rant but I was still pretty thrown by Peter's presence. Why the hell would Maggie ask Peter to be here unless we needed someone to be a scape goat in this plan?

"Forget him, we need to get started on this. We're running out of time." Derek cleared off a table and I cautiously walked towards it, cutting my eyes at Peter and trying to shake the bad vibes off. I pulled the blue prints out and spread them across the metal table.

"These are the floor plans for the Beacon Hills First National Bank. This right here is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. It leads down into the wall of the vault, which is here." I heard a door from the top of the steps open and Maggie walked out in a loose tank and extremely short pajama shorts. She caught sight of me and walked back into the room quickly like she didn't realize Derek had company.

"Stiles." Scott cleared his throat making me shake my head trying not to think about Maggie's naked legs.

"One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft but that space is so small it took them about 12 hours to drill into that wall, which is stone by the way. The rest of the night they cyphened the cash up to the guys on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall." I capped my marker after showing Derek the entry points to the vault.

"I hope those are copies of the blueprints you stole from you father. I don't want him being apart of any of this." Maggie had reemerged, dressed this time looking much better than she had last night.

"I don't steal from my father, I borrow." I corrected her as she descended the stairs. She didn't even flinch when Peter walked over and sat on the steps she'd just walked down. She stood back near him rather than approach us at the table.

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked drawing me back into the task at hand.

"Yes we can but very, very barely and they also patched the wall so we'll need a drill of some sort. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit-" Derek cut me off.

"Forget the drill." His head had sagged and I looked over at him.

"Sorry?" I questioned hearing him sigh.

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?" He answered my question with another question.

"What do you think you're going to do Derek? Punch through the wall?" I leaned off the table making Derek stand up straight and cross his arms over his chest.

"Yes Stiles, I'm going to punch through the wall." He smiled tauntingly.

"Oh really? Fine then let's see it big guy. Let's see that fist, big ole fist. Make it. Come on." I held my hand out waiting for him to extend his own as he looked past me to Scott silently probably wishing I would disappear. He gave me his fist and I gripped his wrist, placing my hand above it.

"Okay you see that? That's maybe 3 inches of space to gather enough force to punch threw solid-" Derek extended his fist without much effort sending me backwards when it made contact with my palm.

"DEREK!" Maggie shouted at him as I turned away from them to look at my probably fractured hand.

"Ahh. AH! He can do it. Mother-fa- he can do it." I squeaked out.

"Be easy on his hands Derek. I'm sure he has to utilize them quite often." Peter jawed making me attempt to give him the finger but my hand was still throbbing.

"That's enough. I'll get through the wall but who's following me down?" Derek finally spoke up looking in Peter's direction.

"Don't look at me. I'm not up to fighting speed yet and honestly with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself." Peter shrugged like we were already defeated.

"The voice of optimistic is always quite the annoyance isn't it?" I gritted out walking back towards the table.

"So what? I'm just supposed to let them die?" Derek threw his arms out.

"One of them already is." Peter reminded us making Maggie step away from him.

"We don't know that." Peter looked at Maggie like she had lost her mind.

"Do I have to remind you what exactly we're up against here? A pack of alphas, all of them are killers, all of them are pissed off about what happened this summer." Maggie's eyes hit the floor and she wrapped her arms around herself drawing inward. Whatever Peter was talking about was clearly something she felt guilty about.

"If that doesn't scare the hell out of you than try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha." That was brand new information to me but I actually was pretty fascinated with seeing this giant alpha.

"I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids and they'll be missed." Peter mumbled making Maggie look up.

"Can someone kill him again please?" I caught Peter's glare and felt like I'd finally gotten my bearings with this sass off we apparently were having.

"Seriously? This is not worth the risk." He finally looked away from me towards Derek but before Derek could say anything Maggie pulled out of her shell.

"I will bring them home or I'll die trying. If you have a problem with that then you can go." Maggie's tone had changed completely and the room grew even more tense if that's possible. Derek finally spoke up.

"Alright then I'm going to need you to make these plans smaller so I can have a guide when I go." He leaned on the table and Maggie's head snapped towards him.

"What? No Derek you aren't going alone. I'm going with you." She insisted.

"She's actually kind of right. This is a two man job at the very least. Not that I think she should be going." I added quickly just so she would know that I supported someone going with Derek but not her because after what I saw last night, Maggie needed some serious rest. She cut her eyes at me, clearly unhappy with my suggestion.

"After what happened with Isaac the last time we had a plan, you aren't fit for this. Your head is all over the place and you're going to get yourself or someone else killed." Derek said firmly.

"Look I know I screwed up but facing them alone is suicide. You know that. You can't just walk in there by yourself." Maggie explained.

"He won't be. I'll go with you." The room seemed to go silent once Scott spoke up. Maggie's panic was almost instant on her face when she finally realized he'd volunteered.

"Scott, no. I told you that we appreciate your help but you need to stay out of this." Maggie insisted.

"Sweetheart as much as it pains me to say this, maybe we should let Scott's hero complex play itself out." Peter sighed once more as he stood up from the steps smugly.

"Okay new plan- We offer Peter up as a replacement. I'm sure they can figure out a better use for a useless douchewolf." Scott tries to hide his smile and I desperately wanted to get a much deserved high five but Maggie didn't think it was funny at all.

"This is ridiculous Derek. I'm not going to let you drag Scott into this now. We had a deal dammit!" She shouted slamming her hand down on the metal table.

"I don't know why you suddenly think we can't help you or can't be trusted with this but you're wrong. We've always been stronger together, Maggie." Scott stepped towards her making her step back.

"This isn't a debate Maggie. I'm pulling rank here. You aren't coming with us. Stay with Isaac. If things take a turn then we'll call for back up." Derek said making Maggie's eyebrows go up.

"You're getting pretty comfortable with pulling rank now, I see. So much for being a big brother." Maggie stormed up the steps and Derek followed her.

"What the hell does pulling rank even mean?" I asked looking to Scott for answers as he pulled me towards the door.

"Look, I need you to stay here. I think we both know it's not a good idea for her to be out there right now and if you stay here than maybe she'll think twice about leaving." Scott explained in hushed tones as if we weren't standing in an apartment full of werewolves.

"Yeah I can stay. I mean she probably won't talk to me but I'll stick around." Scott gave me a look before glancing over my shoulder.

"Keep an eye on him too." I looked back forgetting for a moment that Peter was still here.

"Oh what? No no! I hate this plan." I whined. Scott gave me a pleading look as Derek came back down the stairs.

"Fine but I'm not going to like it." I mumbled. I walked over to the table and plotted out the map like Derek had asked.

"Is she okay?" I asked handing him the piece of paper.

"She'll be fine. I trust you won't be stupid enough to pick any fights with him. He may be weak still but that doesn't make him powerless. Keep your guard up." Derek offered surprisingly as Peter sat down on the couch, letting out sigh.

"I thought I told you before, my hearing is impeccable Derek so if you have something to say then just say it to my face." Peter propped his feet up on the table and put his arms behind his head. Derek walked by and shoved his feet off the table.

"Let Isaac rest and don't make things worse than they already are. She doesn't need the added stress." Derek said as he walked towards the door.

"Don't let him get inside your head." Scott said before catching up to Derek. I watched them pull the heavy door closed behind themselves as they left and heard Peter sigh from the couch. I walked back towards the window and saw Derek's new car pull away from the building. I tried to busy myself by straightening the papers on the table or looking around at what I could see in the loft. The place didn't really have a ton of things but you could tell it was comfortable for them. I listened the best I could hoping I could hear Maggie upstairs with Isaac.

"You won't hear anything. She keeps that room sound proof." I looked over at Peter who had his eyes closed, head resting on the back of the couch.

"Who said I was listening?" I asked shooting him down.

"Please. You aren't here because you missed me. You're here sweating it out because she's up there with Isaac. The boy she choose to spend the summer with opposed to you. It seems almost like I should say I told you so but-" I cut him off unwilling to listen to his ridiculous rants.

"And why are you here exactly? Huh? I highly doubt that Maggie invited you considering you're about as useful as a two dollar bill so why don't you cut the shit and just come out with whatever master plan you have to screw us all over." I leaned on the table watching his eyes open slowly, a stupid grin pulling across his face.

"I honestly don't think you want me to argue with you Stiles. I can smell the discomfort, the fear. You're terrified to find out why I'm really here, not because I might have some ulterior motives. No you think maybe, just maybe I'm telling the truth and Maggie needs me here. Worse, wants me here more so than you." I swallowed the lump in my threat and turned away from him, getting up to walk over to the window once more.

"It was a long summer indeed Stiles. We had a lot of time to make a mends. You don't have to believe me because your doubt is what keeps you curious." I crossed my arms over my chest tightly trying to focus my attention out at the moon. We were running out of time and I was doing exactly what Scott told me not to do. I was letting Peter get under my skin.

"Just go back to your narcissist nap, crazebar." I gritted out earning a chuckle from his stupid mouth. I tried not to think about what he could have done to Maggie over the summer. She already seemed a million miles away from me. If I lost her to Peter, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself.

**[Maggie's POV]**

I paced around the room after listening to Derek and Scott pull away. This whole thing was beyond me. I should never have made that deal with Derek. I regretted it instantly now that Scott was being thrown in the middle of the alpha pack business without a clue of just how dangerous they could be. He's only seen a glimpse compared to what I've been through. Derek knew I wouldn't be able to handle this. He knew I'd be worried sick if I wasn't there but he pulled rank anyway.

"You're pacing is making me nauseous." Isaac croaked startling me. I walked over and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Derek pulled rank. Scott isn't ready for the alpha pack. Hell, we weren't even ready for the alpha pack. He's being stupid." I felt my knees bouncing on the floor and knew if I didn't lie back against the mattress, I'd be fidgeting.

"You blacked out from pain last night Maggie. Maybe Derek thinks you just need a break." Isaac cleared his throat when I leaned back.

"I don't need a break. I need Erica and Boyd to be safe. I need the boys to stay out of this and away from me. I need you to get better and for Derek to stop thinking I need some sort of therapy." I rubbed my temples hearing Isaac suppress a laugh. Silence filled the room as I settled into getting lost in my head. I tried not to listen to whatever was happening downstairs. It was strange enough having Stiles here. I didn't think he'd ever be here but he was just a few feet away now. Something about having Stiles so close by made my chest feel heavy. I felt exposed and on edge and I hated it. Thing's were easier when he wasn't around. I could feel the way I felt about myself and not feel so bad about it but now it was almost unbearable.

"You don't have to stay up here with me, you know? Not that I don't enjoy your company but I've slept before. I'm actually quite good at it." Isaac said as I stared up at the ceiling.

"I'd rather be up here with you than down their with them. I'm not ready for all that yet." I admitted. I caught bits and pieces of what Peter and Stiles were talking about but knew I should just keep my head up here because it was only making me feel worse.

"You honestly think it's better for Peter to talk to Stiles instead of you? Wow Derek was right. You're out of it." Isaac huffed making me roll my eyes.

"It's better this way. Stiles is better off without me in his life. I'm bad for him. I don't even know why he's sticking around." The only person I had semi opened up to about how I felt about myself was Isaac. He was there the night I killed Laci. He saw the animalistic rage I used to tear her to pieces. No one will ever see that part of me again. I wished he hadn't.

"He's here because you're here and because he cares about you whether you think it's best or not." Isaac shifted in the bed causing himself to wince. I turned towards him to help him and make sure he knew I was there to offer any relief from his pain.

"You're not a bad person Maggie. Everything you've done has been to protect the people you love. You've got to get what Deucalion said out of your head." Isaac said making me stop what I was doing to look at him. He'd been preaching the same thing since I started talking to him about it but I couldn't help the way I felt. Derek was convinced it was a Hale family trait to feel heavy guilt but that night was different. I didn't feel human that night. I felt like a monster.

"What if I can't?" I breathed seeing Isaac close his eyes.

"Then you'll never stop hiding. I guess the good news is that I'll keep you company." I watched Isaac move his arm gesturing for me to move closer to him and I couldn't help but smile sadly at him. I cuddled into his side carefully taking comfort in his embrace as he leeched away some of his pain.

_"I can't take waiting around like this. It's nerve-wracking. My nerves are wracked. They're severely wracked. WRAAACK!"_

_"I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over?"_

I listened for a moment to Stiles and Peter talk and got the vibe that they'd be just fine down there by themselves. Isaac absently rubbed his hand up and down my back and I actually felt myself relax into him.

"You know he's probably down there thinking the worst right? Especially with Peter in his ear." Isaac said.

"He can think what he wants. I don't care." I shrugged telling the truth I half believed.

"You're only saying that because of what happened at that party." Isaac reminded me of the night I came home after going to talk to Scott and Stiles and finding Stiles with a condom. I couldn't deny that it made me feel things I wished I hadn't.

"Yeah well forgive me for being a bit put out, I wasn't out screwing you all summer. I was trying not to die." I said bitterly.

"He doesn't know that. He doesn't know any of it." Isaac reminded me.

"He doesn't need to know. He clearly found a way to move on so what does it matter?" I could feel Isaac staring at the top of my head as I leaned on him.

"Okay, I'm not going to say you're jealous-" I cut Isaac off by lifting my head to look at him with a warning.

"You know, just because you're hurt and it's my fault doesn't mean I won't punch you." I threatened.

"Let's just connect some dots here. Stiles pants were unzipped and he was retrieving a condom. When he went back down, Heather was missing right? So obviously thing's didn't go as far as you think." I shook my head at him.

"It doesn't matter. None of this matters. Stiles can sleep with whoever he wants to. I don't care." Isaac smiled softly at me. I know he heard the lie but I dared him to say anything about it.

"You and I shared a few intimate moments this summer too." He reminded.

"But that's different. That's a comfort thing and we weren't together so it's not like I cheated on him." I explained. Isaac reached out and patted my leg.

"I'm pretty sure Stiles found comfort in that girl just like you found comfort in me. It wasn't cheating on either end but you were both filling a void." I frowned at Isaac. All I could remember was the night that I cried on his chest after hearing Stiles through the walkie talkies. I was a freaking mess. It was the first real time I think I was able to admit to myself how broken I'd become.

"Just because you've done thing's, doesn't mean you aren't worthy of love. I love you. Derek loves you. Scott loves you." I shook my head and looked away from Isaac.

"You're supposed to be resting." I got up from the bed and pulled the blanket back up to Isaac's chest giving him the opportunity to grab my hand and stop me.

"Maggie, you once told me that we don't know who we are until we're connected to someone else and you were right. I think we find out that we're better human beings when we're with the person we're supposed to be with." I placed Isaac's hand back on his chest and rested my hand atop it for a moment.

"I'm not a human being. I'm a werewolf and a witch. The human part of me died a long time ago." Isaac's face seemed to fall as he rested his head back against the pillows.

"Get some rest. I'll tell them to keep it down." I walked out of the room and rested my hand on the door so I could soundproof the inside as well as the outside.

"Do you think Erica's really dead?"

"Do you think I really care?"

I could hear Stiles and Peter still talking downstairs. Stiles pacing was actively making me nervous.

"I just don't understand the bank though? Why not chain them up in some underground lair or something. They're an alpha pack right? Shouldn't they have a lair?" Stiles asked confused.

"They're werewolves, not Bond villains." I could tell Peter was running out of patience with Stiles.

"Wait a second! Maybe they're living there? Maybe their bank vault reminds them of their wolf den!" Stiles threw his arms out and I shook my head.

"Wolf dens." He whispered seeing me at the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, where do you live?" Stiles turned around and looked at Peter.

"In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods." I couldn't help but smile at his response.

"Whoa really?" Stiles took the bait which surprised me a bit.

"No you idiot. I have an apartment downtown." He rolled his eyes as I descended the steps.

"They aren't living there. It's basic hostage protocol. You never keep your prisoners where you sleep. You should know that being the Sheriff's son." I said making my presence known.

"Maggie likes my apartment, don't you?" Peter smiled over at me.

"You've been to his apartment?" Stiles asked looking dumbstruck.

"Yes she has. We actually have family dinners a few times a week. She needed someone to talk to during these very trying times in her life. Someone strong enough to handle her woes." Peter stretched the truth making me roll my eyes. He was no stranger to that but I knew it was only to anger Stiles.

"Can you both keep it down please?" I finally tried to interject but Stiles narrowed his eyes on Peter.

"God you are such a dick." Stiles shook his head glaring at Peter but he only chuckled at his anger.

"I don't know why but your disdain for me brings me such joy. It truly does. I mean the insults from a 16 year old space case really wound me but I know underneath all that hostility you really care." Peter taunted. Stiles walked towards him like he was ready to unleash but I was tired of the bickering.

"Dad! This isn't helping." Stiles froze where he stood, eyes now trained on me like I'd just spoke in tongues and his whole world stopped.

"Are you kidding me?" I turned to face him unsure of who he was talking to but he took a moment to look me up and down, like he was sizing me up.

"You bled out and died in my arms after he tried to rip your heart out of your chest but spending the summer with him suddenly makes him your dad? You get physically uncomfortable to even look at me yet he gets a free pass for all the horrible things he's done. Who the hell are you?" I held Stiles eye contact as long as I could. I knew his anger was justified. I knew he was confused about what was going on with me and having Peter here wasn't making things any easier but I couldn't explain it. I couldn't explain away what had happened over the summer. This was the way it needed to be.

"Maggie, when they took you, you said you couldn't use your strength or your magic right?" Peter filled the tense silence almost immediately.

"I don't want to talk about that." I dismissed him quickly but he jumped up from the couch.

"I'm being serious. How did it make you feel being in there? How did your body feel?" He persisted. Stiles shot a curious glance at him waiting for me to answer.

"Weakened but on edge. Like being held over a flame." I rubbed my arm nervously. Peter looked away from me to Stiles.

"What are the walls made of? The walls of the bank?" He walked towards Stiles who shook his head.

"Why does that matter?" Stiles asked as Peter started looking through the blueprints. It was almost like I could read his mind where it was going.

"The type of stone could have an effect on the moon. Which means-" Peter cut me off.

"This is a trap." Stiles instantly grabbed the papers off the table and started searching for the materials and I ran back upstairs to gear up. I wasn't going to let the alpha pack take the rest of my family away from me. Not that easy.

**[Scott's POV]**

Derek and I parked a safe distance from the bank before approaching it cautiously. It was eerily quiet and I couldn't pick up many scents around the building. Something felt off. It almost felt too easy. I got a text from Stiles saying that things were all good back at the loft and Derek glanced over at me.

"She'll be fine. She's just got a lot of anger inside of her right now." Derek breathed without looking at me.

"I can tell. I guess this alpha pack did that to her." I fished for a little information but I wasn't very slick about it.

"That's something she'll have to talk to you about, at least I hope she does." Derek grumbled out as he looked the back of the building up and down.

"What was that whole pulling rank thing? What's that about?" I asked hoping he'd at least answer that.

"It's a blood contract we decided on. There were a few conditions on her going into hiding and one was recognizing that I was the alpha she'd be following and that at any time I could pull rank which meant she was obligated by a blood pact to do exactly what I told her to do. At the time it was useful because she didn't want you two knowing where she was but I guess now she's pissed I still get to use it with the secret being out." Derek explained. It was a smart idea for him to do that. Maggie has always been stubborn so making it next to impossible for her to put herself in danger using magic definitely put my mind at ease.

"I haven't really wanted to use it on her with how much she's been pulling away from us but now that you're both in the know-" I cut him off.

"We aren't in the know. We have no idea what's been going on with any of you." I said stopping in my tracks as we finally found a fire escape that would be the entrance that Stiles marked on the miniature map. My sideways glance at him made him let out an annoyed sigh.

"What? You want an apology? It wasn't my decision Scott." Derek defended himself but I shrugged.

"No it's just...I can't get something out of my head." I admitted.

"The moon's rising Scott. What is it?" He pressed looking back over our shoulders where the moon slowly crept up on us.

"Risk and reward." I said still looking at the building trying to put this plan into order in my head.

"Which means what?" He was growing impatient.

"It means we're not measuring the risk with enough information, we don't know enough." I looked over at him.

"We know time is running out before they kill them." Derek said with panic.

"Yeah but think about it. They put the triskele on your door four months ago. What have they been doing all this time? They got Maggie but somehow she managed to escape? Why let Maggie go and keep the others? If they were trying to eliminate a threat then why wouldn't they have kept Maggie? Why would they wait until now to finally kill Erica and Boyd?" I asked trying to piece some sense of all this together.

"We don't have time to figure out every little detail." Derek's heartbeat was racing and as much as the old me would haev shut up and rushed into this, I wasn't the same person I used to be. This was a calculated strategy but the alpha pack. We couldn't afford to run in here blind.

"But what if this little detail is the most important one?" Derek finally took a step back and shook his head.

"Then we do nothing and Erica and Boyd are dead." I knew the probability of this was weighing on Derek. Those were two of his betas. I couldn't imagine the storm that was going on in his head. Being a werewolf was hard enough but being an alpha, being that responsible for a number of lives had to feel terrifying.

"I know what I'm risking Scott. My life for theirs." He said like it was the most simple thing he's ever decided. I took a few steps back from the building to shake what he just said out of my head.

"What? Why are you dragging your feet here? We don't really have time for you to be second guessing this." Derek step back towards me, completely oblivious to why I'd be a bit skeptical about pressing on.

"I'm dragging my feet because you basically just said you were going to sacrifice yourself." I threw my arms out pointing out his stupid solution.

"I'm their alpha, Scott." He stuck his chest out and it drove me crazy. As if being their alpha was a death sentence and there was no second option.

"You're also Maggie's cousin and from what I can see you're more than that. What am I supposed to go back and tell her?" I reminded him and watched his face fall at the mention of her name. It didn't take a genius to know that Derek and Maggie had grown closer as a family unit. I was actually kind of proud of Derek for letting her in but this would kill her.

"You tell her I did what I had to and that…she'll be okay." Derek was lying to himself. That was the saddest part of this. He knew I could hear his heart but his face was what spoke volumes. His doubt was written all over his expression.

"Well we both know that's not the case. She needs you Derek." Derek looked at me for a few moments like he was registering just how serious I was being before shaking his head.

"She needs you too. Right now she needs you more." He stepped forward ready to jump up to the fire escape but I gripped his shoulder.

"Then lets go in here, save them and get back home to start working on saving her." I set out a plan for Derek and he nodded at me confirming that he was on board with it. I wasn't going to go back to Maggie without Derek. I couldn't do that. No matter how screwed up things had become, I couldn't tell Maggie that she lost another family member.

I watched Derek scale the side of the building, pulling himself up the ladder with ease. I followed his lead up the side of the building and helped him shimmy down into the shaft that Stiles had marked. It was a tight fit but I watched him struggle slightly to get enough room to punch through the wall. The first attempt moved the wall just barely. The second produced a crack that made him look up at me. He continued to punch two more times before gritting out.

"Not a word about this to Stiles." Derek warned making put my hands up. He took a deep breath and finally punched through the wall. He tumbled through the opening and stepped through behind him, taking in the darkness of the vault. There was a tall figure standing in the darkness of the vault and Derek and I both stilled.

"Boyd?" He called out making the figure move towards us in the dim light of the moon we'd let in. It was Boyd and he was growling and radiating with anger.

"Boyd, it's me. It's Derek." Derek put his hand out still a good distance from Boyd trying to get through to him. My phone started vibrating and I answered it quickly.

"Stiles, now is a really bad time." I whispered harshly.

"SCOTT! Scott you've got to listen to me okay?" Boyd's head jerked towards me, clearly hearing Stiles scream through the phone.

"Look you've got to get out of there. The walls of the vault are made of a mineral called hecatolite. It scatters the moonlight." Stiles said sounding panicked.

"We're here to get you out okay?" Derek said not bothering to listen to Stiles on the phone.

"What does that even mean?" I asked keeping my eyes on Derek as he slowly advanced towards Boyd.

"It keeps the moonlight out Scott! They haven't felt the full moon in months." Stiles explained.

"Think of it like the gladiators and the Roman Colosseum, they used to starve the lions for 3 days to make them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance for it." Peter spoke up even sounding freaked out.

"Scott they're going to be stronger-"

"More savage and bloodthirsty too. Scott, they're the lions. They're the starved lions and you and Derek just stepped into the Colosseum." I caught sight of the moonlight coming in through the hole we'd created and felt the growls in the vault bouncing off the walls.

"Derek, we have a problem. A really big problem." I breathed just as the second wolf came around the pillar to stand next to Boyd. It wasn't Erica. It was a girl with long dark hair.

"Cora?" Derek's body froze as he stared at the girl I'd never seen before.

"Cora?" He said more desperate this time.

"Derek...get out...get out now." The girl knew Derek as she pleaded desperately for him to leave. I noticed the line of mountain ash against the wall and followed it to vault door as it swung open. I could hear Stiles yelling my name on the other end of the phone as Ms. Morrell came into the light of the vault door. She knelt down and dropped one final fist of mountain ash on the line, closing the circle and making Boyd and the girl snarl instantly.

"NO WAIT!" I tried to run towards the door but she had already stepped back away from the door. I was caught by the throat and tossed against the wall by Boyd. Before Boyd could claw at my chest, Derek grabbed him from behind and tossed him against the wall. The girl clawed down Derek's back making him roll away and block her arms as she threw them towards his chest. I bounced to my feet and shoved her to the ground hard enough to daze her. I fell back against the vault wall next to Derek.

"You know her?!" I asked finally.

"She's my sister! My younger sister." Derek yelled just as out of it as I was apparently. Even more so I guess because the last we talked, his family was dead.

"What is she doing here?" I questioned.

"Like I have a clue! I thought she was dead!" We watched Boyd and Cora get to their feet and get their bearings back in order.

"LOOK OUT!" Allison voice surprised me from the open door and Boyd grabbed a hold of me, tossing me back into the marble wall and digging his claws deep into my chest.

"AHHH!" I growled out in pain as he lifted me up off my feet. I felt the blood start to pour out of my mouth and my head was spinning. I could hear Derek yell something but I was on the verge of either passing out from pain or dying. Everything started to fade until Allison called out once more.

"BOYD!" He dropped me like I'd burnt his hand and let me hit the ground with a thud so he could sprint across the vault and run out with Cora at his side. For a second I thought maybe he was going after Allison but all they wanted was to be free from this confines. I couldn't help but think that if they were this vicious towards Derek and I, what would happen to the first innocent people to run into them out there? There was no time to catch our breath. We had to find Boyd and Cora before they tore someone else apart.

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_**~Special Thanks~:**_ _For all those who have read and reviewed the story-_ MateriaGirl16, bezerker-xxx, Janedoee7, Charl0tt3, NathalieOchIzabelle, BansheeBabe, BrittWitt16, alicestilinski, , XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX, icespice100, kathrynwerewolves14, BriancyyD, xxxanniexx, Happy Guest & Guest._ I will never know how to truly thank you for your dedication and feedback._

_&& A thanks to my lovely beta reader/otter half MissECharlotte who always comes through for me._


	4. Chasing After You

**Authors Note:** **I just want to thank everyone for being so patient with me. I didn't think it would be so hard to get back to writing after the death of my uncle but it's proving to be a lot harder than anything else. It's just strange to step out of the real world to enjoy the fictional one I suppose. I hope this terribly long update makes up for that. Thank you for sticking with me and reviewing to let me know that you're still enjoying this series. You're all wonderful.**

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[**Maggie's POV**]

I ran past Derek's car as I did laps around the building looking for a safe entrance. The more things I passed, the more I started to get a vague since of deja vu. I found the front door cracked open and pulled it open when I heard arguing.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" Derek's voice boomed.

"YOU WANT TO BLAME ME?! Well I'm the one turning teenagers into killers!" Allison argued with Derek. His shirt was slashed through as well and blood stained splotches littered the once green material.

"No that's just the rest of your family." Derek spat.

"I made mistakes. Gerard is not my fault." Allison said but I could hear the small hesitation in her voice.

"Of course he's not, no one could ever say that. Now can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? Did you find them?" I interrupted their arguing and Allison shook her head.

"What about your mother?" Derek ignored me and both Scott and I looked at Derek. That secret has stayed between us since that night and Derek was spilling the beans now?

"Tell her Scott." Derek walked away from all of us towards the vault door and I looked Scott over. He was covered in blood, his own blood and Allison stood disheveled. Waves of grief and confusion coming off of her.

"Are you okay?" I asked looking Scott over.

"I'm fine." He nodded carefully.

"What did he mean Scott? What aren't you telling me?" Allison walked towards us and I stepped back trying to give them space but Allison's eyes met mine.

"Maggie please...what is he talking about? I know you know. Scott is like a brother to you. If he won't tell me, then you should." Allison was more forceful this time and Scott let out a sigh.

"The night of the rave...the night your Derek accidentally bit your mom...he was saving me." Scott kept his eyes down. I felt like I was intruding on this personal conversation and honestly all I wanted to know is if Erica and Boyd were alright.

"Saving you from who?" Allison pressed.

"Your mom. She ran me down and tried to use wolfsbane to poison me. If Derek hadn't shown up, I'd have died. She was trying to protect you from me...from this life." Scott explained and I could tell Allison's world just shattered a little bit more.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She forced back tears and swallowed the lump that had surfaced in the fight against her emotions.

"Allison, I'll tell you anything you want to know but right now-" I cut Scott off.

"Scott...she deserves to know why." He looked at me before finally meeting her saddened gaze.

"I couldn't. I couldn't let that be the last memory that you had of her." Allison's chest shook slightly and I wished I knew someway to comfort her but there were no words. There was no gesture I could offer with such a burden. I've had to live with the same one and it kills a part of you. Knowing that your mother died to protect you is something that destroys you. I was pulled from the uncomfortable silence as Derek walked slowly out of the vault carrying Erica's lifeless body. I felt my legs grow heavy and my heart jump. There was only four heartbeats in the room.

"No…she can't…she can't be." I whispered in disbelief unable to move my legs to reach out for her.

"She's gone Maggie." Derek croaked out, throat raw with devastation and disappointment. We refused to believe Isaac's unconscious rants but a part of me wished I had. I wished I would have put in my head that she might already be dead because this pain that was washing over me felt like it was taking my entire body over.

"I'm so sorry-" I cut Scott off.

"NO! She can't be dead! I would have felt it! Derek, we would have felt it!" I started to pace knowing I needed to get my body to move or else I'd shut down.

"This is all my fault." I felt hot tears trying to force itself out but I covered my face quickly. All I could think about was that night. I shouldn't have left them. I shouldn't have just left Erica and Boyd. I should have known this would happen. They should have just killed me.

"Maggie, this isn't your-" Scott reached out to comfort me and I flung my arms away from my face, smacking his hands back and startling him and Allison.

"Don't touch me. Just stay away from me." I felt my hands shaking and tucked them under my arms.

"Maggie…I know you're hurting but you can't keep pushing me away." Scott said desperately but all I could do was feel rage boiling up inside of my stomach.

"You have no idea how I feel." I bit looking directly into his eyes before focusing my eyes past him to Derek. I had to be strong right now. I had to get Derek to focus on the task at hand. I reached out and touched Derek's arm snapping his eyes to mine, sharing the pain with him.

"I'll take her home but you have to find Boyd before it's too late." Derek started to walk with me in silence.

"He's with Cora." Derek muttered making me turn around as I opened the door to the backseat.

"Cora Hale? Your little sister?" I questioned making him nod.

"I thought she was dead...all these years I thought-" I put my hand on Derek's chest and he lifted his eyes to mine.

"We'll have a chance for you to catch up with her but first we need to get her and Boyd to safety. I'll take Erica home and send Isaac to help you okay?" Derek sat Erica down in the back and pulled the blanket over her like he was trying to keep her warm. I shut the door and kept my hands on the car for a few moments bracing myself. We stood together, numb and unsure of what to do for a few seconds before Derek stepped towards me like he might hug me but I stopped him.

"If you hug me, I'm going to break down and right now, neither of us have time to do that. Go save our family and we'll grieve later." I heard my voice shake as I fight the urge to just lose it but luckily Derek knew I was right.

"Tell Isaac to follow my scent and we'll meet up to start a search." Derek didn't linger much but he did stop long enough to kiss my forehead quickly and take off back into the bank. I didn't bother going back in. I got in the car and headed towards the loft. I noticed how shaky they were resting on the steering wheel and I tried not to think about the dead body of one of my friends in the backseat.

"I'm so sorry. I never should have left without you and Boyd that night. I should have burned the place down. I should have done something." I wished she could respond. I would give anything and everything for her to just huff out a laugh and tell me how much bad she was going to make me work before forgiving me. All I felt now was a cold numbness that was soaking through to my bones as I pulled up to the loft and Isaac came running out.

"Derek just called and said..." He stopped short when I opened the backdoor. He saw Erica lying in the blanket and approached slowly.

"I need you to help me get her upstairs. I'm going to clean her up." I could feel Isaac's eyes leave Erica's body to stare at me in confusion but when I started to pull her out myself he put his hand on my arm.

"I've got her. I've got her." He repeated putting his arms under her and lifting her bridal style towards his chest. I shut the door on the car and followed Isaac back inside towards the elevator. It was a silent ride up and we were met at the door by Peter and Stiles. I walked over to the table and swept all the maps and papers that Stiles had brought over to the floor so Isaac could lay her down.

"Maggie..." Stiles started to walk towards the table and I shut him out of my head.

"Isaac, I need you to grab my bag behind my door before you leave. Derek needs you to help track down Boyd and Cora." I said firmly.

"Cora? My niece Cora?" Peter spoke up and I nodded.

"They were holding her with Boyd apparently. That was the other person Isaac felt." Isaac ran down the steps with my bag as I stroked Erica's hair from her black veined ridden face.

"What are you going to do with her?" Isaac asked me as I continued to brush her hair from her face.

"I'm going to fix her." I said simply. There was a beat of silence that fell in the room and I felt my dad step closer to me.

"Maggie, she's gone. You can't fix-" I snapped my eyes up to his cutting him off cold.

"I'm not going to bury her like this. Do you understand me?" I gritted my teeth together and chuffed at him making him nod his head in understanding. Isaac said a few things before he took off but I didn't catch it. All I wanted to do was try my best at restoring a bit of dignity back to Erica so she could have a proper burial. My hands hovered, shaking over her skin. I didn't want to latch with her and see what they'd put her through. That would destroy me and I knew it. I cleared my head and flipped through the pages of remedies book. I knew the spell I needed. I saw Caroline use it once when I was younger on an animal that she'd hit with her car.

"Maggie, you know you need to be very careful with using those spells. If you even try to bring back-" I closed my eyes slowly trying to block out Peter's voice.

"I'm not bringing her back. Why would I? I don't even want to be here." I muttered before resting my hand on Erica's forehead. Her skin was cold and I felt the back of my eyes prick with tears but I fought them back as I started doing the incantation. The blackness in her veins started to disappear slowly starting from her forehead and trailing down through her entire body. I could feel the pain and agony that she once felt draining out of her and I had to take a few deep breaths to keep from collapsing. I felt a sudden jolt to my stomach and I let out a gasp clenching my midsection. Peter started towards me and I put my hand out stopping him. The feeling rolled up my chest, into my throat and exploded in my head like a siren making me yank at my hair.

"What's happening? Is she having another episode?" Stiles asked confused looking to Peter for answers. I knew what the feeling was. I hadn't experienced it often but I knew it was because of Lydia. Our connection had grown over the summer and I'd been looking into what could possibly cause a physical reaction to her experiencing trauma. It was mild in comparison to the ones I've had before so I knew she was at least okay but there's no telling what was going on with her yet. I just added it to the pile of things I had to worry about.

"Maggie maybe you should just take a minute?" Stiles suggested as I opened my eyes letting a tear roll down my cheek. I continued to ignore him as I filled a small bucket with warm water so I could wash the blood from her hands and arms. I dipped the rag back into the water wringing out the blood that had stained it. I was completely lost in my thoughts of the last conversation we had. It's funny how now that I had her back, the memories of that night came back vividly. The smell of blood and sweat in the air. The mixed emotions flowing from Erica, Boyd and Isaac that went straight through me, overwhelming all of my own fears and pain.

"I'm not afraid to die, you know. After everything that's happened, it's the furthest thing from my mind." I said feeling Peter walk up next to me to look down at Erica as she lay out in front of the both of us now looking like she was merely sleeping. There were no dark veins covering her fair skin, no tension or panic in her face. She looked at peace.

"That's because you care about other people. You've built this wall around yourself to protect your heart but you made a fatal mistake when you let people behind those walls. When you love someone, you protect them with everything you have. But sometimes it's not enough. Sometimes they get hurt or they get killed and there's no stopping it. The wall starts to crumble and you find that dying would be a sweet relief to the pain of losing the people you love more than anything." Peter put his hand on my shoulder and I flinched slightly. It wasn't a touch of comfort but one of strength as he tightened his grip.

"You know why they did this. Don't let it break you. Use what you feel. Use that anger. Rage is the best motivation next to revenge." Peter's hand left my shoulder as the words bounced around in my head. He was right. I couldn't let this break me down. I had to be strong. I had to keep fighting, for Erica. Deucalion wanted me to get angry. Well he has no idea what he's ignited.

**[Scott's POV]**

It didn't take long for me to pick up Boyd's scent once I'd collected myself in the bank. Seeing Maggie's emotions flip like a switch kind of sent my head spinning. One minute she was asking me if I was alright and the next she just shut down like a robot. I knew finding Erica dead was hard on her but I honestly didn't expect her to completely check out. Derek explained to me how dangerous it was to have Boyd and Cora roaming around so I couldn't worry about Maggie right now. I heard some kids screaming in the distance and took off towards it. The sound of rapid hearts beating helped guide me to them just in time as Boyd lifted a metal shed clean off the ground just to try and tear into these two children. Luckily for me, when he tossed the shed it knocked over a jar full of fireflies that seemed to distract him long enough for me to scoop both kids up and take off in the opposite direction. I got a few miles away before I sat them down to look them over.

"Are you okay?" I looked from the crying little boy to the shaking little girl.

"That monster...he almost got us." She cried.

"You're safe now but you have to get out of the woods." I explained seeing that neither of them had any injuries. All I could smell was the fear on them now.

"Our house isn't far. Will you please walk with us. I don't want the monster to get us." The little boy begged. Every time they called Boyd a monster I felt a bit taken aback. Boyd wasn't a bad guy. They didn't know him. They didn't know what he'd been through the past few months. They were just kids. I pulled out my phone to call Derek and let him know I'd lost Boyd but he wasn't too happy about that.

"That wasn't really the plan Scott." I could actually hear him rolling his eyes.

"I know which is why I think we should stick together. He's too strong, too fast and way too angry for one person to handle. We've got to do this together." I explained.

"Look I'm at the trails at the entrance to the preserve and Isaac is on his way. Can you meet me here?" Derek asked sounding irritable. I glanced down at the two kids clinging to me and nodded my head.

"Yeah I'll meet you but I have to drop something off first." I said feeling the girls grip on my arm loosen.

"Alright hurry up." Derek hung up and I pocketed my phone. The kids led me towards their house quietly until I saw it come into view.

"Are you...are you one of them?" The little boy looked up me and I nodded softly confirming his question.

"Why was he so angry?" The girl asked confused.

"Someone did something very bad to him. He doesn't know what he's doing which is why I have to find him and stop him before he hurts someone or himself." I explained. The kids stopped in front of their house and looked at me as if they were trying to figure me out. I wouldn't even know what to do if I knew werewolves were real at that age.

"I hope you save your friend. Thank you for saving us." The little girl held out her hand and I smiled at it before shaking it. Her hand was so small compared to mine and that was a reminder of just how important it was to get Boyd and Cora off the streets. I wouldn't let them hurt anyone, I couldn't let them hurt anyone. I made sure both kids were inside with the door locked before heading back towards where Derek told me to meet him. He started to run the moment he spotted me and I managed to keep up with him as we searched for a scent or a trail. We ran as fast as we could, brushing past branches and flipping through trees before Derek finally found a set of footprints.

"Is it them?" I questioned as Derek looked around the muddy area.

"We're not the only ones who decided to stick together." He informed finding two sets of tracks overlapping.

"Is that going to make it easier or harder to catch them?" I asked not sure I really wanted the answer.

"I don't know." Derek's uncertainty worried me. He seemed like his head was all over the place and I didn't blame him but after watching Boyd almost kill two kids, I knew we needed to be focused.

"Derek, I saw Boyd tried to rip two little kids apart. I know you've got a million things going on in your head, with Erica and Maggie but if they're going to do that to everyone they find then we have to get some real help. We can't do this on our own." I watched Derek's face fall as he walked past me.

"My head is here. Isaac is on the way now so let's keep going before we have anymore close calls." Derek started running again and I let out a sigh. I followed Derek until we both heard a growl and knew it was Cora. Derek took a different way around and I jumped over a tree branch to kick Cora away from Isaac who had tried to take her on his own. Once the three of us had cornered her, she took off into the trees once more with Derek and Isaac on her tail. I looked at the girl that was standing frozen by her tent, eyes wide and unsure of what she had just witnessed. She had a much different look than the children had. When I approached her, she started to stumble backwards. I put my hands up letting her know I wasn't going to hurt her.

"Are you okay?" I asked seeing her whole body shivering.

"W-what?" She was terrified.

"Are you alright?" I asked again feeling a bit hurt like I did when Maggie first saw me as a wolf. She nodded her head that she was alright and I stepped closer.

"You need to get out of here. Get out of the woods as fast as you can. Go!" I yelled making her scramble. I backed away from her and pulled out my phone sending a text to Stiles to check on Maggie but I knew I couldn't wait for the response. Not with Boyd and Cora on the loose like they were. I pocketed my phone and took off in the direction Isaac and Derek ran to try and catch up praying that at least things were calm on Stiles end.

**[Stiles POV]**

I looked down at my phone reading Scott's text asking how things were here before lifting my gaze to Maggie as she cleaned Erica's dead body. I couldn't even begin to fathom how to answer his text. Peter hovered closer by her whispering in her ear whenever she started to crumble at the edges but the moment he stopped talking it's like her body would snap back into this cold, distant robotic person and her grooming would become more meticulous. I couldn't pretend to know what she was going through. Sure, I'd lost my mom but I'd never lost a friend like this before. She also wasn't making it easier with putting me at arms distance from whatever the hell was going on with her. I wanted to keep being mad. I really wanted to be pissed at her for doing what she did but watching her silently mourn over a friend that I know she cared deeply for kind of broke my stride a bit. She'd always felt responsible for Derek's pack and to see that one of them was killed would make her instantly take that blame on herself. The Hale guilt complex is something I've become used to by now and it made it hard to be angry at someone who already pretty much hated themselves.

Peter grabbed his coat and started for the door making me spring to my feet. He paused looking at me with confusion.

"Where are you going?" I asked earning a look of annoyance.

"Out. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave her alone. She doesn't need you hovering over her right now." Peter snapped pulling the heavy door open with ease. Maggie looked up at him and Peter gave her a nod like somehow in the off putting silence that he'd been sitting in, Peter had told her of his plans to leave.

"You really think she should be by herself right now?" I gestured with my arm and Peter puffed out his chest.

"Yes I do. You don't know her as well as you wish you did if you think otherwise." Peter pulled the door shut behind himself leaving me to stand awkwardly by myself with my back to Maggie. I turned around slowly and dared a glance at Maggie. She didn't even bat an eyelash as I shoved my hands in my pockets and slowly walked over towards her. The silence that filled the room wasn't just awkward. It was tense. I could see the streaks on her face where tears used to be as she washed the blood out of Erica's fingernails. I jumped slightly when she spoke.

"Why are you still here?" She croaked not even breaking her stride.

"I don't think you should be alone right now." I said honestly.

"I don't think you know what I need at all right now." She shook her head dismissively.

"You're right. I don't but I'm still not going to leave you alone so you can stew in it." I fought against her words.

"Stew in it? You have no idea what's going on in my head so stop pretending you understand." She finally looked up at me with annoyance. I rested my hands on the table on the opposite side of Erica's body.

"I'm not going to pretend I know what you're going through. I knew Erica but I wasn't close with her like you were. I'm allowed to be sympathetic to the situation because I do...care about you." Maggie gripped the sides of the table and hung her head.

"I'm just trying to help Maggie." I followed it up gently but her head snapped up and her eyes locked with mine with an intensity I've never seen from her.

"What?! What do you think you could possibly say to make me feel better Stiles?" She asked in disbelief, her patience finally run out.

"This isn't your fault." I said honestly but she snapped.

"You have no freaking clue how much this is actually my fault which is why you shouldn't be here in the first place." She gripped at her hair roughly and for some reason I could actually feel her pain and anxiety. I wasn't sure if it was because of how intense she was being or because it was mixed with my own feelings for her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you realize that you didn't cause this. The alpha pack killed Erica okay? This blood isn't on your hands-" She stopped me short.

"Yeah except you don't know why they killed Erica." She took a deep breath trying to regain some composure.

"Well they seem pretty evil to me considering they killed a teenage girl, so I'm going to go with that." I explained away simply but she let out a dark chuckle before meeting my gaze once more.

"They were getting revenge because I killed one of their own. She was probably a few years older than us and I slaughtered her without a second thought." I felt my breath catch in my throat at the revelation. Maggie had killed someone? That doesn't sound like her at all. There's no way she could have done something like that. I tried to hold her gaze but I had to shake my head to actually try and remember how to talk again. I was taken by surprise when she walked around the table towards me invading my personal space.

"Now look me in the eyes and try and tell me you know who I am, I dare you." Her eyes were cold and her entire body seemed like it was challenging me to make a move. I wasn't sure what to say or do but I didn't want her to think I was scared of her. I swallowed the lump in my throat and let my eyes flutter a bit but I never looked away from her.

"I don't care who you think you are now or what you've done." I stood my ground but Maggie didn't flinch.

"It's not about what I've done. It's about what I plan to do and that's kill the alpha pack. Every single one of them will pay for hurting my family." The only time I'd seen someone with such rage in their eyes was Peter and just admitting that to myself was terrifying. Maggie blinked away a cringe and I looked her up and down.

"Maggie?" She gripped her head again and fell back into the metal table.

"Whoa! What's going on? Are you okay?" I reached out to her and the moment I made contact with her arm she fell to her knees.

"D-dont! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" She placed both her hands on the floor and started taking deep breaths.

"Lydia...what's wrong?" She whispered as pain seemed to vibrate through her head. I instantly began to worry about Lydia unsure of how Maggie could even know if something was wrong from all the way across town. Maggie's body stopped shaking like the earthquake in her head had finally stopped.

"Are you okay?" I touched her back and she shrugged my hand off.

"You need to go." She was still trying to collect herself on the floor as I knelt next to her.

"You expect me to leave after-" My phone ringing cut me off and I looked at the screen to see Lydia's name flashing across it. I answered it hearing Lydia's hard breathing.

"Hey are you okay?" I asked confused.

"No I'm not okay! I'm standing next to a pool of blood and a dead body right now!" Lydia cried.

"What?! What happened?" I looked down at Maggie as she rolled over to lean against the pillar in the middle of the room, dragging her knees to her chest.

"I don't know! I just ended up here. Please just-" I cut her off.

"I'm on the way. Just stay out of sight okay? I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm on the way now." I grabbed my jacket and hung up my phone before walking over to Maggie extending my hand.

"Come on, Lydia needs us." I said but she made no move to take my hand.

"Go. I don't need you here." She said without looking at me.

"I'm not leaving you here. Not like this." Her eyes finally traveled up to see me looking down at her and she shook her head.

"Since you can't see what's right in front of your face, I'll break it down for you. I can handle this on my own. I don't need you...for anything and you don't belong here so leave before I make you leave." Maggie threatened. I bounced on my feet not wanting to budge but I knew Lydia needed me. As much as I'd love to challenge Maggie and let her know that she isn't getting rid of me, I had to let her win this battle for now.

"You're right, I might not have a clue what happened to you or what you've done but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on you. As screwed up as things are between us and as pissed off as I should be at you...I can't just stop caring about you. So push me away, be shitty or whatever you want but I'll always care. Whether you like it or not." I left Maggie sitting on the floor trying to shake the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty with just leaving things up in the air like that. I rushed down to the jeep and took off towards the pool to find Lydia pacing back and forth.

"Lydia! Lydia! Are you okay?" I ran up to her touching her arm to look her over only to see she was visibly shaken.

"I'm okay. but that guy over there, not okay." She breathed nodding her head in the direction of a lifeless body sitting in a lifeguard chair just a few feet from where we stood.

"Yeah I'm gonna call my dad." I reached for my phone to call it in.

"I already called 911." I looked up at Lydia.

"You called the police before you called me?" I asked a bit offended.

"I'm supposed to call you first when I find a dead body?" She questioned right back.

"YES! ALWAYS! GOD! Have you learned nothing!?" I yelled at Lydia and she narrowed her eyes at me. I took a deep breath and started dialing Scott's number.

"I'm sorry that was a bit harsh. Are you okay?" I asked once more earning an eye roll.

"I'd be better if you weren't screaming at a crime scene." Lydia grumbled.

"Stiles? Is she alright?" I knew Scott was referring to his text that I never responded to.

"She's not great but I'm not with Maggie, I'm with Lydia. She found a dead body at the pool. It looks like this guys throat was ripped out so I'm going to assume you haven't found Boyd and Cora yet." My eyes caught sight of the pool of blood surrounding the bottom of the chair and I took a step back.

"Are you sure?" Scott clearly was hoping for better news.

"Yup, throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the freaking Shinning over here. I swear to God if two little twin girls come creeping out of the woods and ask me to play with them, I'll piss myself." I raked my hand through my hair, glancing out into the dark trees over the fence just to be cautious.

"Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them?" Scott asked carefully. I narrowed my eyes confused by the request.

"Make sure it was them? Scott, who else is going around ripping throats out? I mean if there is another threat out there, I'd like to know about it." I honestly don't think I could handle more than an Alpha pack right now.

"Just check please." Scott pleaded, his desperation coming through loud and clear. I grumbled taking a step towards the bloodied body to try and get a good look at the wound without the smell of blood making me nauseous. The wound on the throat looked deep but I wasn't quiet sure if they used a singular claw or not. I remember looking at the pictures of Kate Argent's throat after they found her body and it looked different then this kids throat but that wasn't the strangest thing. The lights of the pool area made the silver purity ring on his hand glisten like it was trying to catch my eye. The blood on his hands dripped onto the ground but there was no blood on the actual ring. Almost like someone put it on his hand as a reminder that he was a virgin. I thought of Maggie and how she said I couldn't see what was right in front of me. Maybe we weren't just dealing with the savage werewolves. Maybe there was a missing piece that I couldn't see just yet.

**[Derek's POV]**

The moment Scott hung up the phone, I knew bad news was going to follow. His heart was beating faster and his anxiety was sky high. It was coming off of him in waves just standing there looking at Isaac and I.

"They found a body at the public pool." Scott finally said.

"That doesn't make any sense. The public pool is on the other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near that." I crossed my arms over my chest unwilling to believe that the body they found was because of Boyd and Cora.

"Derek, they killed someone." Scott pressed but I ignored him.

"How are they moving so fast? They can't be that fast on foot!" I argued.

"Derek! They killed someone. Some totally innocent kid is dead and it's our fault." I feel like Scott needed to say it out loud just to feel the weight of that guilt but I didn't need to hear it. I already knew whose fault it was.

"No it's my fault. I'm the one who couldn't handle them. This one goes on me." I met Scott's gaze knowing that he wouldn't allow me to carry that burden alone.

"We need help." Scott said desperately.

"We have Isaac now-" Scott cut me off.

"I mean real help." Isaac's head snapped towards Scott.

"Well thanks a lot McCall. I feel the warmth of team bonding in the face of terror wholeheartedly." I hit Isaac's arm with the back of my hand letting him know the snark wasn't needed.

"They're too strong, too fast and too rabid for us." Scott pointed out.

"We'll catch them." I countered but Isaac snorted.

"Even if we do, what are we going to do with them? Hold them down until the sun comes up? I'm fit to fight but not for 6 hours." Isaac looked between the two of us and I raked my hands through my hair.

"What do you want me to say? That it'd be easier to just kill them?" I threw out there testing them.

"Maggie would kill you for even verbalizing that." Isaac turned his body towards me like he wanted the comment to be between the two of us but Scott interrupted.

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do." I was relieved Scott felt that way but I don't know why I was surprised.

"If we can't even catch them then what can we do?" Isaac asked out of answers.

"We find someone who knows what they're doing. Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves." Scott gave me this look and I instantly knew who he was talking about.

"That's your idea? Ask Chris Argent? We might as well kill them." Scott started walking away from the two of us and Isaac shrugged before following.

"He knows what he's doing and he won't kill them." We trudged through the woods and I shook my head.

"Plus he kind of owes us a favor doesn't he? His dad almost killed Maggie." Scott and I exchanged glances but didn't bother talking about it.

"Just trust me okay? You didn't trust me with the Maggie stuff but trust me with this. For once just...follow me okay?" Scott stopped as we hit the edge of the woods where both of us had parked.

"Fine. We'll try it your way." I got into my car and Isaac didn't dare open his mouth as we followed Scott to the grocery store parking lot. I parked a few spaces back and watched Scott pump himself up to approach Chris Argent. After what he had told me about him and Allison breaking up, I doubt that Argent would do anything to help us. We had made an agreement to go our separate ways the night that Gerard disappeared and I haven't heard from him since.

"So do you think this is going to work?" Isaac finally cut through the silence in the car as we watched Scott approach Argent.

"Nope." It was only a few seconds before he pulled a gun on Scott and his hands went up in surrender.

"Well that went as well as expected." Isaac watched as Scott tried to talk Chris down enough to put the weapon away.

"So...your sister..." I looked over at Isaac as if he must be completely out of his mind. He seemed to read my reaction quite well.

"Alright how about another topic?" Isaac offered.

"How about silence?" I knew it was a simple request but he kept talking.

"Do you think Maggie's really going to be okay? I mean when I left she was like grooming Erica's dead body." I honestly hadn't thought about Maggie since Scott told me about the boy at the pool. I was happy she was at least honest with me back at the vault. I didn't want her to break down either but I knew we would have to face this pain together.

"She's mourning the loss of someone she considered family. What did you expect?" I defended.

"I don't know. I guess I expected her to come with us to save the remaining family. I mean you said one of them was your sister so she's technically gained another cousin." I looked over at Isaac annoyed with all his questions.

"We all grieve differently. We'll get them back and she'll start healing." I said seeing Isaac shift in the passenger seat.

"I hope you're right. So how old is your sister?" Isaac tried to slip the conversation back to Cora and I rolled my eyes.

"Really? Because your relationship worked out so well with Maggie?" I took a jab but he didn't seem too offended by it.

"Just because it didn't work out doesn't mean we didn't make out." Isaac's smirk quickly disappeared when I let my glare linger on him for a moment.

"Due to recent tragedy, I can't kill you but I could still rip your tongue out of your head. You know that right?" I gave Isaac a final warning and he knew I was done fooling around.

"I'll just…be over here…practicing the art of silence." He shrunk down in his seat.

"Scott, I watched my father brainwash my daughter, almost turn her into a killer. That world, your world dismantled mine. My wife, my sister, my father...my entire family. Why would I ever step foot in it again?" Argent had clearly learned from the mistakes that were made but he still made me leery.

"Because more people are going to die. You saved Maggie's life and I knew you can help us save Boyd and Cora. If not for Derek, if not for me then for Maggie. She's isolated herself this entire summer in order to keep that world from touching all of us and it's swallowing her whole. I can't help her if we lose Boyd. Please..." Scott pleaded with Argent. He seemed to take a second to consider it but shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you." Oddly enough, I understood where he was coming from. If I could go back in time and stop Maggie from getting involved with the whole Alpha pack business, I would. It has completely wrecked her life and it's my fault. I'm supposed to protect her from things, take on the burdens that surround us but I failed that. She was in this and there was no getting her out easily. I watched Scott get into Argent's car and took that as a sign to follow him. I wasn't sure what Scott planned to do until we made it to the public pool where ambulances and police cars scattered around the crime sign came into view. I caught sight of the grieving parents as Sheriff Stilinski tried to console them. My phone beeped with a message from Scott to follow them back to the preserve, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I parked the car and got out to see Argent still actually carried a bag of tricks in the back of his car, tossing it on the ground.

"Have you been trying to track their steps?" He questioned, Scott kneeling next to him.

"Trying to." Scott said.

"Then you've been wasting your time. There's only one creature on earth that can visually track footprints and that's man. If you aren't trained like me then you won't know that this print is Boyd's and these are-" Isaac interrupted.

"Cora's." He answered simply.

"No those are yours. You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here." Isaac stood up straight and looked down at his feet like he was silently apologizing for messing up the prints.

"Look, I know you three are using half your energy resisting your own urges under the full moon but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora who have fully given in. They've got the pedal to the floor while you guys are barely hitting the speed limit. I know that Maggie is capable of tracking them with her magic so she might be pretty useful-" Scott interjected.

"She can't...she's with Erica. She didn't make it." Argent eyed Scott for a few moments before looking over at me finally registering my presence.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I gave him a nod and tried to stay focused.

"How do we find them?" I asked trying to keep my head in the current crisis.

"Focus on your sense of smell. Actual wolves are known to track their prey by up to a hundred miles a day by scent. Trained hunter can use scent to trap them. If the wind is with them then a wolf can track a scent up to two miles which means we can draw them to us or into a trap." Argent tossed a net at Scott who started to unravel it.

"The full moon does give us one advantage, they'll have a higher heat signature which makes them easier to spot with inferred." He tossed both Isaac and I binoculars with inferred embedded in them.

"Thanks but I've got my own." I tossed mine to Scott who took a peek inside to see through the woods easier.

"Just remember we're not hunting wild animals. Underneath those impulses, there are two intelligent human beings. Don't think they can't rely on that human side, it's suppressed but it's there. It reminds them how to mask the scent, cover their tracks and how to survive." Argent picked up his bag and we followed him to the cove. The scent of many people were lingering up their as it was a popular spot for teenagers to go and have a beautiful view of Beacon Hills. It all looked so quiet and peaceful but nobody knew what was out there. Nobody knew what could come for them, would come for them if we didn't stop Boyd and Cora.

"When's the last time you saw your sister?" Chris asked me out of the blue.

"Not in years. I thought she died in the fire." I saw him tense a bit at the mention of the fire.

"So you don't have a lock on her scent." He looked away from me towards Scott.

"Scott, how confident are you in your skills?" He asked.

"Honestly, most of the time I try not to think about all the things I can smell." Scott admitted. Argent looked back out at the residential area and sighed.

"Alright the problem is when the breech the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school they'll be right in the middle of Beacon Hills." I was determined not to let them get that far. I couldn't go back and tell Maggie about anymore lives lost. She was too fragile right now.

"They aren't going to kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac sounded nervous now that we were strapped up and ready to go. I didn't blame him.

"No but there is an important difference to recognize. Wolves hunt for food and at a certain point they get full. Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill. There's some primal, apex predatory instinct that comes from ripping up warm body's into bloody shreds and there's no telling how that need is met." Argent seemed to be recalling a memory of seeing such a savage attack in his head.

"I'm familiar with that. It's terrifying." Isaac's eyes were on me and I knew what he was referring to. We didn't talk much about Maggie killing one of the alphas but the night she returned, Isaac couldn't sleep because of the nightmares it had given him.

"We can't kill them." Scott must have noticed the look and I met his eyes.

"What if we can't catch them?" I questioned unsure of what our backup plan was.

"Then we contain them. There's no one in the school at night is there?" Argent seemed to be hit with an idea.

"You want to trap them inside?" I asked as he looked down at the school.

"There's a big steal door in the basement. Only one way in and out." Isaac offered.

"Are we sure there's no one in the school?" He turned around to look at the three of us.

"There can't be. Not this late." Scott seemed sure and I hoped he was right.

"Alright then, let's get started." Argent dropped his bag on the ground and pulled out what looked like a solar light that you'd find in someone's front yard.

"These are ultrasonic emitters. It's one of the tools we use to coral werewolves. Pushing them into a direction we want them to run." He pressed the button of the top and a high pitched screeching pierced through my skull like I was suddenly hit with a sledgehammer. I covered my ears and felt my jaw clicking when he looked up. He turned it off and walked us back to his car to retrieve more.

"These are going to drive them to the school?" I asked shaking off the headache I was starting to get due to the sound.

"Yes and then it's up to you to get them in the boiler room." He shut the back of the car after handing us each 4 of the emitters.

"I think we should consider the plan where we make Maggie help us track them down because this doesn't sound fool proof." Isaac commented making Scott huff.

"It'll work." He said confidently before running in the direction Argent mapped out for him. Isaac followed his own marked path and I did the same. I could hear the first few emitters going off as Scott, Isaac and Chris placed them where they needed to be. I tried to drowned out the noise so it didn't distract me but it proved to be difficult. I didn't even hear Peter approach as I placed the last of the emitters.

"And the hunted becomes the hunter. Maggie would be ashamed." I stood up and looked towards him as he came out of the shadows.

"Aren't you supposed to be there providing support? She is your daughter or so you keep telling me." I gritted my teeth at him and he rolled his eyes.

"I am providing support or knowledge where it's clearly lacking. You really think a couple of high tech dog whistles is gonna help?" He tested.

"I don't see you offering a hand or knowledge to be honest." I said without looking at him.

"Personally I'm trying to cut down on futile endeavors besides my vested interest is only in the well being of my daughter, not the people who weigh her down." Peter's arrogance would usually be followed by Maggie correcting him but I didn't have that luxury currently.

"Cora's alive." I said simply seeing no change in his demeanor or interest.

"I heard. Let's throw the reunion party when she's not an unstoppable killing machine." He took steps towards me.

"I can stop them." I started to walk past him but he stopped me.

"Sure you can. By killing them. Which happens to be the point of this little exercise. Let me remind you that Deucalion wants you to kill them, he wants you to get rid of his baggage so it's easier for you to join his pack. The fact that it was supposed to happen in the vault instead of out here in the open doesn't change his plan. It just means Boyd and Cora are going to kill a few innocent people first." I kept my eyes on Peter watching as he slithered his way closer, trying to get inside my head. He'd been doing it all summer now that Maggie let him back into our lives. It was something I'd grown used to.

"The only way they'll excuse what Maggie did is if you agree to become part of that pack. In order for you to do that, you have to cut the weak links on the team, Derek. It's not as hard as you make it seem." Peter shrugged.

"I should be okay with that? Letting them kill innocent people or killing my own pack." Saying it out loud sounded absurd to me but for some reason he never thought a life was worth anything.

"Come on, Derek. What's a few homeless people? We live in shades of gray. We survive doing what we have to. Just because you kill them doesn't mean you aren't an alpha. You can always make more werewolves. Think about our family." He leaned down and turned the emitter on for me.

"I am thinking about family...my family." He rolled his eyes at me as I took off towards the school. I couldn't think about Deucalion or Peter right now. I had to get Boyd and Cora back. I had to bring them home.

**[Lydia's POV]**

Once the Sheriff had arrived and taken my statement, Stiles insisted on following me home. However he not only followed me home but inside my house and up to my room. He even carried my purse for me.

"You didn't have to follow me home, Stiles." I turned the light on and sat down on the end of my bed.

"I just wanted to make sure you got in okay." Stiles shrugged, tossing my purse next to me.

"I had a police escort." I reminded him but he snorted.

"I know the inner workings of that force, alright? They're not nearly as reliable as people think." Stiles defended himself making me laugh.

"Well you also didn't have to follow me into my room." I looked over at him and watched his jaw drop a bit as he searched for another excuse.

"Well I didn't...yeah I don't have an answer for that. I can leave." Stiles started to back out of the room.

"Stiles...what's on your mind?" I pressed so he would just spit it out already. He bit his bottom lip and laced his fingers together.

"You mentioned before...about staying in contact with Maggie this summer. You're connected somehow, more than just being friends." Stiles eyebrows furrowed.

"She's been trying to help me figure out why I get the sensations I get. For some reason we are connected. I think it might have something to do with the night we were both attacked. Maybe Derek's uncle transmitted something between us, I don't really know but she's been helping me...and I've been trying to help her so yeah I guess you could say we're connected." I watched Stiles expression turn into a frown.

"Is she still keeping her distance?" I cut through his thoughts and he looked at me.

"Erica was killed. She's not handling it well and I don't know how I can help her. It's like she wants me to just give up on her and let her suffer by herself. She told me something pretty heavy tonight and I'm not even sure how to wrap my head around it. I just...my head is all over the place right now." Stiles ran his hands down his face before plopping down in the chair opposite me.

"I can understand her trying to protect me or whatever but it's like she's going out of her way to make me feel like...like I'm useless. Like she doesn't need me or want me around. It's like she wants me to hate her or something and I totally should for how she left things this summer but I can't." Stiles clasped his hands in front of himself and rested his elbows on his knees.

"She does need you." I said softly but he chuckled.

"She actually told me she didn't need me or want me there before basically threatening me so I think you might be a bit off on that." I wasn't surprised to hear that Maggie was being aggressive with Stiles. I knew she was terrified of him getting wrapped up in whatever she was doing this summer and from the little bit that I knew, I was sure that Maggie herself was terrified.

"I feel like an asshole because the one person to get me through the Maggie diabolical is missing and I haven't focused enough on her because I've been so worried about Maggie. I just need to find out who took her and why. I don't want her getting hurt in all this, not because of me." Stiles was struggling with a lot of emotions right now and I could see the anguish on his face.

"And the whole thing with Peter-" I cut him off.

"What whole thing with Peter?" I asked curiously. I knew Maggie had agreed to keep an eye on him but she hadn't given me much information regarding what he'd actually been up to and I needed answers now more than ever.

"She's calling him dad now. Can you believe that? After everything he's done, after what he did to her...she was more welcoming of him than she was of me and that just...that freaking sucks." Stiles looked over at me seeing that I was rubbing my temples.

"I'm sorry I just unloaded on you like that. I'm sure you're exhausted after the whole stumbling across a dead body and all that. I'll just-" He used his thumb to point towards the door.

"I have no clue how I ended up finding that body. I didn't even know where I was until I got out of the car." I explained making Stiles stop.

"The last time something like this happened-" I stopped him.

"I know. Maggie promised me that she would keep an eye on him this summer but I don't know just how close to him she's gotten." Stiles stared at me for a few moments before his cell phone rang. He looked at the screen and sighed.

"It's Scott's mom." He chewed on his lip and I waved him off.

"I'll be alright, just go." I said seeing that he was struggling with the decision to leave in the middle of our conversation.

"Call me if you need anything. I mean it." Stiles pointed at me with his phone still ringing and I gave him a nod. He got all the way out of the door before peeking his head back in.

"Hey Lydia...thanks." I smiled a Stiles feeling pretty good about actually being helpful for a change. I might not know what's going on with myself but it felt good to be able to help someone else out. I laid back in my bed and took a deep breath. It was hard to focus on anything without any real answers to the millions of questions I had running around in my head. It was exhausting and mind numbing to the point it was almost too painful to function. All I wanted was to figure out what the hell was going on with me.

"Are you okay?" I jumped hearing a voice break through the silence and Maggie stood near the window.

"Jesus! No I'm not okay. You need a bell on your neck or something." I sat up and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"You had another episode. I felt it again." Maggie took a few steps towards me but made sure to keep her distance. I knew that her abilities increased when emotions were high.

"Stiles told me about Erica, I'm so sorry." Maggie looked down at her feet.

"I just came by to check on you. Two episodes in such a short time span isn't good. I figured you'd feel pretty shitty." Maggie stepped forward and put her hand on my head seeping the ache behind my eyes out through her palm. She barely flinched as my pain entered her veins and when I blinked away the daze it had left me in, she removed her hand and took a step away from me.

"You didn't have to do that." I said grateful. She just gave me another nod.

"I should have come sooner." Maggie didn't ever take me giving her gratitude well but I figured it was because I didn't ask for it and she insist on taking the pain away. She wasn't looking for thanks.

"I'm fine, really. Stiles seems like he needs you more than me." Maggie's eyes fell from mine and I could see she was still trying to pretend like he didn't matter.

"Something strange is going on. Something he's trying to figure out. He needs you right now." I pressed earning a sigh.

"I'm the last thing he needs." Maggie didn't look at me as she stepped towards the door. She kept putting distance between us as if she were about to flee or something.

"You know what? I listened to your excuse all summer and it was plausible then but now it's just ridiculous. You're hurting him on purpose now." I insisted seeing her start to wrap her arms around herself at my sudden brutal honesty.

"I'm not trying to hurt him. I'm trying to protect him. Erica's dead because of me." Maggie argued but I remembered my conversation with Stiles. The hurt look on his face when he talked about Peter.

"And what about Peter? Rubbing your new ridiculously domestic relationship with him in his face is you trying to protect him." I questioned seeing her expression change to a bit more defensive then it was before.

"Look I know you're upset and you have every right to be but I'm telling you, whatever is happening with you it has nothing to do with Peter. I've kept an eye on him like I said I would." Maggie shook her head.

"Yeah but you seemed to have forgotten how much he's hurt all the people you care about in the process. You want to protect all of us, stop pushing us away and keep us close." I gave Maggie a moment to let reality slap her in the face before standing up and stepping towards her.

"Why do you keep doing that? You know I'm not going to hurt you." Maggie snapped at me.

"Maybe I'm afraid of hurting you!" Her body started to shake. I wasn't sure if it was with anger or terror.

"The people that care about you the most...Scott...Stiles...they aren't afraid of you." I stepped towards Maggie letting her know how I felt.

"I'm not afraid of you." I said firmly but Maggie's posture change. She closed off entirely and her face hardened.

"You should be." She hissed. I pulled back slightly not recognizing the girl that she'd suddenly slipped into in mere seconds.

"Lydia? Honey are you home?" My mom's voice made me turn my head towards the door long enough for Maggie to slip back out the window without so much as a sound but a slight breeze that ruffled the curtains. I looked out of the window to stare at the moon again as it still hung, full in the sky as a taunting reminder that despite it's illuminating beauty, it cursed half the people in Beacon Hills.

**[Scott's POV]**

By some miracle, our plan was actually working. We managed to lead Boyd and Cora all the way to the school without anyone else getting hurt. Chris, Derek and I managed to corner them in one of the hallways before we led them down to the boiler room. We crept around in the darkness before silently moving towards the door to lock them inside. Derek leaned against the door, feeling the push of Boyd and Cora as they tried to get out but it was no use. That door wasn't going to budge.

"I can't believe that actually worked." I said leaning against the wall. Derek chuckled making me realize I don't think I'd ever actually heard Derek make that sound before.

"Me either but it did." He said in amazement. We both stood there trying to catch our breath.

"What do we do now?" I asked unsure of where we go from here.

"Wait for the sun to come up, then take them home to start healing." Derek pushed away from the door and leaned against the wall behind me, closing his eyes. I stepped up to the door and listened in to see what Cora and Boyd were doing.

"What do you hear?" He asked me.

"Heartbeats." I started to listen harder hearing something a bit off.

"Both of them?" He sighed. That's when I heard it. It wasn't just Boyd and Cora thrashing around with heavy heartbeats but one single, slow beating heart was in the midst of all that chaos.

"Actually, I hear three of them." I turned towards Derek and he got to his feet immediately. We both tuned into what was happening behind the door and when a voice called out, it confirmed our fears. Derek stepped in front of me, gripping the door handle.

"What are you doing?" I asked with fever.

"Close the door behind me and keep it shut." Derek didn't face me as he steady himself on his legs to prepare for what was behind the door.

"Hey if you go in there alone, you're either going to kill them or they're going to kill you. Both those options aren't something I want to explain to Maggie." I put my hand on Derek's shoulder and he glanced back at me.

"I have to try for Maggie. You don't understand what it's been like. Losing Erica is just the beginning. I can't...I have to try." Something about the way Derek struggled to explain why he felt so compelled to risk his life was unnerving. I knew things were bad during the summer but I was starting to think they were much worse than I previously suspected. Before I could argue anymore, Derek opened the door and slammed it behind himself. I locked it like I was told and listened carefully, silently praying that Derek came out of this alive. I heard growls and I knew when the fight started. It took everything in me not to open the door and help him.

"Come on Derek! Come on!" I gritted out. I heard feet stop at the top of the steps and looked up to see Maggie.

"Where is he?" She asked seeing me leaning against the door.

"WHERE IS HE SCOTT?!" She shouted running down the steps towards me. She pushed me away from the door and listened into the room.

"DEREK!" She screamed going for the lock but I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"NO! NO LET ME GO! DEREK!" She thrashed against me trying to get to the door but I squeezed as hard as I could. I knew I couldn't hurt her and I had to try and let Derek do what he asked me to do and that's try.

"Scott if he dies, I'll never forgive you!" I could feel Maggie's fear and rage mixing together as she kicked off the wall to try and back me into the one opposite us but I twirled her away so she couldn't get any leverage on me. I thought about what Derek had said before he entered the room to face his fate. All he had to do was try, for Maggie.

"I know you think I don't understand, I know you want me to back off but I'm not going to do that. You can hate me and you can try to hurt me but I'm not going to stop trying. Do you hear me? I'm not going to stop trying." My lips were practically on top of her ear as I tried to convince her that there was no point in fighting me because I wasn't going to just let her walk out of my life. We were family whether she liked it or not. She eased slightly when Isaac yelled that the sun was finally coming up.

"Shhh! Stop...just stop." Maggie stopped thrashing as we listened into the room and didn't hear anymore fighting. I tried to count the heartbeats but Maggie took the opportunity to use my distraction and open the door.

"Maggie wait!" I rushed in behind her with Isaac on my heels but almost knocked her down when she stopped dead upon seeing Derek. He was on his knees, covered in blood with Cora and Boyd's bodies lying motionless on either side of him. She ran towards him and fell to her knees.

"Derek! What the hell were you thinking huh? Locking yourself in here with them!? That's the stupidest thing you've done in a long time." Maggie's voice was raw like she was ready to break down but Derek's eyes fluttered weakly when she stroked his face.

"I'm fine, look at me okay? I'm fine." Derek tried to reassure Maggie but clearly he had no idea how he actually looked. I was shocked he was still able to move his lips to form a sentence after doing a face off with two rabid wolves.

"There's a teacher, I'll take care of her but I need you to get them out of here." Derek looked past Maggie towards Isaac and I.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself Derek. You can barely stand." Maggie argued.

"Do you think I don't know you're already healing me? I can feel it Maggie." Derek started to get to his feet and she helped him lean on her.

"It's not nearly enough. You need rest." Derek pushed off of Maggie and stood on his own now taking a deep breath in before gripping her shoulders.

"I'm going to need you to get Cora and Boyd settled in at the loft. I will be home as soon as I can. I promise you, I'll be fine. You can heal me all you want once I get there." Derek said gently.

"Is this you pulling rank again?" Maggie questioned ready to fight but Derek merely kissed Maggie's forehead.

"No this is me being your big brother and asking you to trust me. Help get them home so we can start our healing, please." He said one last time before Maggie nodded taking a step back.

"Get out of here. Go!" Derek pressed as I picked up Cora and Maggie helped Isaac carry Boyd. She kept looking back at Derek but he gave her a nod to carry on. We got them up the stairs and out to the parking lot to load them up. I stepped away from Derek's car when Stiles name came up on my phone.

"Hey man, we got em." I heard Stiles sniffle on the other end of the line.

"Scott...I need you to meet me at the hospital." I could tell just by listening to his voice that something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" I asked moving frantically to the driver side of Derek's car as he paused to sniffle again.

"I found Heather...meet me in the morgue." Stiles hung up before he got upset again and I jumped into the driver side making Maggie look at me through the window.

"What are you doing?" She asked confused as I started the SUV up.

"I need to get to the hospital. Stiles needs me." Maggie didn't question me. She just jumped into the passenger seat and put her belt on as I sped off towards the hospital. The ride was silent but I didn't really know what to say anyway. When I parked the car, Maggie didn't move.

"Are you coming in?" I asked her but she nodded her head.

"I can't just leave Cora out here. Just...hurry up." She rushed me. I shook my head at her before jumping out and shutting the door. I couldn't drag my feet because of Maggie. Stiles needed me. When I pushed the doors of the morgue open, I could see Stiles leaning on one of the tables where a body was lying. I immediately recognized it was Heather and put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry man." I broke the tense silence and Stiles wiped the tears from his face.

"Your mom said she was brought in the other night. She called me in about the guy we thought Cora and Boyd killed because he had the same injuries. Someone slit her throat, took a wire to her neck to strangled her and bashed her in the head too." Stiles explained.

"So Boyd and Cora didn't kill anyone?" I questioned totally thrown.

"You're going to wish they did." He sighed.

"Why?" I was still trying to get him to look over at me but I didn't need to see his eyes to know he was pained.

"I'm not really sure yet but the other girl that was out in the woods, Emily, eventually they're going to find her. She's one of them. Emily, Heather, the guy Lydia found at the pool. All three were virgins." Stiles leaned off of the table and I saw his hands were shaking as he tucked them under his arms.

"They're all gonna have the same three injuries. Strangled, throat slashed and head bashed in. It's called the three fold death." Stiles explained.

"So if these aren't just random killings then what are they?" I asked confused. We had prepared ourselves for the worst, thinking maybe Boyd and Cora killed some innocent kid but now we're talking about some sort of serial killer?

"Sacrifices. Human sacrifices. I don't know if this has to do with the pack that's after Derek or not but someone is out there sacrificing humans, Scott." Stiles finally looked over at me. It was then I think we both realized that we didn't really know anything about this alpha pack and what they were capable of. We didn't know what their end game was but we know they didn't hesitate to kill Erica.

"Scott, I've got to-" Maggie pushed the door open and paused when she saw that we were standing over a body. She walked in slowly keeping her eyes on Heather and Stiles jaw tightened.

"It's Heather." I informed her but something tells me she already knew.

"What happened to her?" Maggie's eyes wandered over the slash over Heather's pale throat.

"Stiles thinks she was a sacrifice." Maggie's eyes finally left Heather's body and landed on Stiles face as he fought more tears.

"She was only 16 for 18 hours. She wasn't supposed to be apart of this. She wasn't supposed to be apart of any of this." Stiles bit his lip before covering Heather's body up with the blanket.

"Stiles…I-" Stiles wiped his tears away before Maggie could say anything.

"Hey don't worry about it. It's not your problem right?" Stiles eyes fell on Maggie for only a moment to glare before he kicked the door to the morgue open roughly and left us standing there. Maggie closed her eyes tightly and let out a heavy breath. I stepped closer to her making her open her eyes quickly as I invaded her space.

"Is this something the alpha pack would do? Are they just trying to get to you guys or is human sacrifice something they could possibly be doing on the side?" I questioned making Maggie shake her head.

"I honestly can't say with certainty. But I'm going to find out who did this." She said firmly. I could tell she had a lot of regrets behind her eyes but I knew she wouldn't go after Stiles.

"Go home Maggie." Her eyes softened a bit. I didn't tell her to go home because she looked wrecked and could probably use a month long nap but because there was nothing she could do for us. She had made her bed with Stiles and now she had to lie in it. She knew I wasn't going to give up on her but right now, I could only mourn with one friend at a time. These days I felt like all I ever did was chase after people. The days of summer reading lists and extra shifts at work doing normal teenage things were clearly over. War had returned to Beacon Hills and there was no way to get out of the fight now.

* * *

_**~Special Thanks~:**_ _For all those who have read and reviewed the story-_ Charl0tt3, BansheeBabe, alicestilinski, , Momsen-xxxx, katiesgotagun & Guest._ I will never know how to truly thank you for your dedication and feedback._

_&& A thanks to my lovely beta reader/otter half MissECharlotte who always comes through for me._


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